And So It Begins
by HypedUpOnSugar24
Summary: Aleks needed a way to escape her pureblood family and overprotective Slytherin "boyfriend." She made the mistake of walking into the Marauders' compartment to find just that.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

I was running down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express as fast as I could. I would not let him catch me. Not this time. The consequences could be more than horrible. Dreadful, even. Unless, that is, I found what I was looking for so I could put the second part of my "plan" into action.

I took a peek into the compartment I was passing, and the only thing I noticed about the current occupants was that they were a group of laughing boys. Perfect.

I dashed inside, only realizing my mistake after I shut the door. This group of boys was none other than the infamous Marauders. Well, too late now, I suppose.

"Alrighty, so which one of you lucky blokes would be kind enough to be my overprotective boyfriend starting in about…" I paused to look at the watch on my left wrist, "two minutes and twenty seconds?" I asked the now-silent group. For the first time in my entire career at Hogwarts, I looked these boys over. It's pretty odd to say for a sixth year Gryffindor girl, but I had never actually spoken to the blokes in my house and year except to tell them to shut up when I was doing homework or, the more likely pastime, planning some sort of brilliant…plan.

The first person I noticed was Remus Lupin, sitting in the seat closest to the compartment door to my left, looking tired and haggard as was usual for him. I always wondered what made him look so worn down all the time, but I never bothered to voice this question aloud to anyone. He had light honey-brown hair with a couple grey streaks running through it. His eyes were a deep gold, which I had noticed in the past were always full of joy and kindness. I sometimes envied his ability to show these loving emotions at all times. Most people looked at me as the angry yet hilarious redhead who always appeared as though she was ready to either prank or kill someone… or both. These are not my words, but the words of caution I had heard about an hour earlier from a third year to a first year as I had passed by where they were talking, trying to find a compartment.

My eyes then drifted over to Peter Pettigrew, sitting on the same bench as Remus but close to the window, leaving a space between them. He was a small, pudgy boy who I knew was able to speak his mind more than people sometimes assumed. He was actually pretty funny if you bothered to pay attention to what he had to say, but it was rare in itself to hear him talk all that much in public. If he did not look so much like a rat, maybe people would actually be interested in what he sometimes had to contribute to conversations. I heard people say he was not worthy to be a Marauder every so often. Perhaps this was because he seemed to be a bit of a follower. However, I somehow had reason to believe this was because he was not good-looking, not because he wasn't hilarious. Of course, I did not believe he was all that bad-looking. He had blond hair and clear blue eyes, close to the colour of my own eyes.

My blue eyes next alighted upon the jubilant James Potter, who had been sitting across from Peter. His hair was as messy as ever, perhaps even more so than the last time I had seen him at the end of last year. His hazel eyes still held tears of laughter from whatever joke had been told right before I had walked in their compartment to somewhat scar their lives forever. They had not known this yet, of course.

Lastly, I turned my eyes over to none other than Sirius Black, who was sitting across from Remus, to my immediate right. His black hair reached just past the tips of his ears, having a perfectly elegant look, which was in fact a huge contrast to his best friend's unruly locks. His steely grey eyes pierced me, as though trying to figure out why in the world a girl who had never bothered speaking to him before suddenly came barging into his compartment asking to be his girlfriend for an indefinite amount of time. I can't say I blame him, really.

My looking over them lasted for about a span of twenty seconds, which I hoped had not gone to waste. I had given each of the guys pleading looks as I looked at them, which could boost my chances in convincing them, hopefully appealing to the more chivalrous aspect of their Gryffindor personalities. "I only have two minutes left." I said, putting urgency in my voice. I hoped I got the message across that this was important.

"Why should we help you?" James asked of me suspiciously.

"Oh, come on! It's not as if you'll get in trouble for helping me! I never actually get caught! In fact, the things you're always blamed for is actually all me most of the time-"

"WHAT?"

"Oops, I should not have said that, huh?"

At that moment, I heard the telltale banging of compartment doors being opened and slammed shut rather forcefully, making the glass in the Marauder's compartment door rattle.

"Please?" I nearly shouted.

"Alright, get over here," Sirius said to me, patting the seat between him and James. I flew to the seat, and Black had his arm around my shoulders just as an angry Erik Connors appeared in front of the window of the compartment door. I couldn't help but glance at my watch to see that my calculations about when I would need a boyfriend were about a second off. Aw, chocolate balls. So close.

The door opened, revealing the Slytherin covered in the Stinksap that can only come from a mimbulus mimbletonia plant. I had to bite the inside of my cheeks in order to keep a straight face and look of innocence.

"Aleksandra Alison Crystal Genevieve Jacalynn Sarah Giggel!" the slimy snake exclaimed angrily.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. It would have been pretty convincing had he not known it was me in the first place. At least, I'd like to believe so.

"Don't play innocent," he snarled, "you just threw Stinksap in my face!"

"Well, I had good reason!" I told him.

"And just what might this reason be, exactly?"

"You asked me out when I had quite obviously just told you to leave me alone!"

"Well-"

"Wait a second," Sirius said to Erik, finding his cue with perfect timing, "Do you mean to tell me that you were hitting on my girlfriend?"

"Considering Aleksandra is not your girlfriend, I am going to say no."

"Excuse me," I said, "but his girlfriend prefers to be called Aleks, not Aleksandra."

The look of astonishment on his face made all the trouble I had gone through completely worth it. He seemed at a loss for words, only able to glare at Sirius and me. Then, after about a minute of this, he finally responded.

"Fine. I'm sure your parents would love to hear about this new development, Aleksandra." I blanched for a second, but quickly recovered from the not-so-hidden threat in his statement. He must not have noticed the flicker of emotion that passed over my face, because he just turned around angrily and walked back to his own compartment, shutting the door behind him with more force than was necessary.

Almost immediately, the Marauders started cracking up. And, although I was horrified of what my parents would do once they found out I was dating the biggest disgrace to purebloods everywhere, I gave in and started laughing with them.

"So what was all of that about?" James asked, once the raucous laughter had died down.

"Well… You know. Long story short, I've grown up in a family of pureblood fanatics." I answered.

The room grew silent for a few moments, and I looked at the boys who had just helped me out of trouble. They seemed apprehensive or maybe even…..concerned. Apparently, they understood the implications of growing up in a family like mine. Oh, but of course they did. I was in the presence of a Black after all. And not just any Black, but the Black that was said to be rejecting the prejudices he had grown up with.

The Black in question then turned to me and said, "Well, I am more than happy to help."

With that said, the atmosphere of the room changed to cheerful and we continued in a light conversation about the shape of Snape's nose compared to an eagle's.

As the train slowed to a halt, I headed to one of the doors that opened up to Hogsmeade Station. The boys were still in their compartment, as I had left to find my friends and go up to the feast with them. I'm not sure if the boys had even noticed if I had left. Ah, well.

I was having difficulty finding my friends in the crowd, so I decided that I would enter the next carriage I saw, despite the consequences I may have to endure from my mates for not finding them. Opening the carriage door that was right in front of me, I hopped in without looking to see who was in there. For the second time that day, that was my big mistake.

As I sat down, I looked around to see Erik and all his Slytherin friends. He was smirking at me, while his friends gave me looks of surprise and confusion. I felt weird in a compartment full of Slytherins. There was too much arrogant purebloodedness in there for me to be at all comfortable.

"So, Aleksandra-"

"Aleks."

"-Did you finally decide to come to our side?" Erik continued, ignoring my interjection. This line kind of made me want to laugh, with all the irony in that statement. And I would have laughed, had he not said it in total seriousness.

"No," I said slowly, "It appears that my arrogant prat radar is just malfunctioning. All I wanted was to head up to the feast and find my friends as soon as possible, so I jumped in the nearest carriage. However, I do believe I need to hop out and find some more… pleasant company."

But as I was finishing my sentence, the carriage started to move. This would only happen to me.

"So, Aleksandra," started one of Erik's stupid smirking friends, Stephen, "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Oh…" This question caught me slightly off guard, as I had almost completely forgotten what happened a few hours ago. "He's with his friends."

"Why isn't he with you? He seemed pretty protective of you back on the train. He wouldn't want you in a carriage with a bunch of big, bad Slytherins, now would he?"

"Well, Erik," I said sweetly, "He's much less controlling than you, of course. So I don't think he needs me next to him at every second of the day, do you? "

And for once, timing worked for me as the carriage came to a halt and I opened the door. "Good day, gentlemen." I said as I hopped out. I stumbled for a bit, but was caught by a pair of strong hands before I could fall face first in a puddle of mud. I turned to see that my saviour was none other than Sirius Black.

"Where did you go, Aleks? We were looking everywhere for you." He said in a voice that betrayed no sign of acting. He actually sounded sincere. Even I almost believed him.

"Oh, I was looking for my friends. Didn't find them, jumped into a random carriage, and here we are." I told him, opening my arms to show my point.

"Oh, alright," he said, "but why that carriage in particular?"

"I didn't realize my mistake until after it started to move. Trust me; I did not enjoy the ride at all. I feel like I need to shower so I can get all the prat-ness off." I said, only half joking.

He chuckled, and then turned us both around to head up to the castle. Only then did I realize that he had his arm around my shoulders. It made me slightly uncomfortable, but I didn't move it since I could still feel Erik's eyes on us. I couldn't wait until we were out of his sight so we wouldn't have to pretend like this anymore. It made me slightly uncomfortable to be this close to a guy in this way.

We entered the Great Hall, and as we headed to Gryffindor Table, I broke away from him to sit with my friends, who were sitting at the very end of the table, like usual. I knew that the Marauders always sat more towards the middle, so I was relieved that I wouldn't have to pretend to be Sirius's girlfriend during the Sorting and the feast.

However, he seemed to have other plans, because he followed me to my seat and sat down next to me. One of my best friends, Marie, noticed our company first, raising an eyebrow at me. She then proceeded to nudge Julianna with her elbow, and they both sent questioning looks in my direction.

If Sirius sitting with us wasn't weird enough, the remaining Marauders then proceeded to sit around us as if this were a regular occurrence in our lives. As if the Gryffindor girls that have always done their best to lay low had always been a part of their social group. However, as one may venture to guess, this was not normal at all.

The seating arrangement separated the Marauders from each other, because they seated themselves as if they were our body guards or something… Sirius sat at the very end of the table, with his back to the wall. I sat next to him, with James on my left. Remus sat across from Sirius, Marie next to him. Julianna sat next to Marie, and Peter sat next to her. I'm not going to lie; this was very, very weird for us. I think we were just grateful that we weren't separated at the time, though. The shock that the most popular guys in the school were sitting with us didn't seem to faze us one bit.

"So, Aleks," Julianna said, trying to start conversation without sounding awkward, "What happened on the train, then? You never came back to find us. The last I heard from you was when you called Erik an overbearing evil little cockroach whom you wouldn't marry if your life depended on it, then threw our last bit of Stinksap at him and ran as if the devil himself were after you… Which, I suppose he was." She added as an afterthought.

"Oh, and you need to buy us some more Stinksap." Marie added, "I have something planned for our dear dorm mates over there." She said, gesturing down the table to Lily, Isabelle, Katherine, and Katarina.

The boys were watching us with indifferent looks on their faces. But I could tell that they never knew the lay-low Gryffindors acted like this around each other. And then something seemed to register in James's mind.

"Hold on," he said, "You are not doing anything to Lily. She'll think it was me again!"

I remembered the last time we did something to Lily and James got blamed for it. I winced, thinking that I wouldn't want to be in that kind of position either. However, he had nothing to worry about.

"James," I said, "You do realize the last time we did something to her in our dorm and she blamed you was in Second Year, right?"

He nodded, clearly not understanding what I was getting at.

"And," Marie said, seeing that we needed to take this slowly, "You do realize that we do something to her at least once a week, right?"

Comprehension seemed to dawn on all the Marauders as she said this.

"So that's why she always chases you three around the Common Room. I just thought she was still overreacting over whatever Prongs had done that day." Sirius mused.

Julianna, Marie, and I all shared smirks.

"Yeah," Julianna said, "We were hoping everyone would think that. We always planned to do that every time Jamesie-boy here made her upset, as it was our cover so we would never be seen as pranking idiots by the general population…. Err, no offense."

"None taken," said Remus, a twinkle in his eye, "_You_ are pranking idiots anyway, even if you are so clever at hiding it that most of the school's population does not see you as such."

The boys started laughing when they saw huge grins on our faces. Hey, we're proud of our accomplishments, even if we do get called idiots for them.

"But anyway-" Marie said as she turned to me.

"-What happened on the train after you ran?" finished Julianna.

"Well, let's see," I said, playing the day's events in my mind, "I ran into the Marauders, got a boyfriend, was yelled at by dearest Erik, who threatened to tell my mother about said boyfriend, talked about Snape's abnormal nose shape,-have you ever noticed that it looks like an eagle's?- ran into Erik and cronies again, made Erik look like a fool,-although he really doesn't need my help to do that- and was saved from being a klutz and falling into a mud puddle by my 'boyfriend….' Yep, that pretty much sums it up."

They took all of this in, and then Marie raised her eyebrow at me again, seeing that I was avoiding a key factor in my explanation of my day's journey.

"Who's this boyfriend you're talking about, then?"

Sirius held out his hand for her to shake, "Hello, I'm Sirius, Aleks's new boyfriend."

**A/N: So this is my new story that I actually already like much better than the other stories I have tried posting on fanfiction. Um, so if you would review, it would be lovely. If you don't, I'll just assume that you didn't like it, so I'll take it down. I don't really see the point of continuing if no one enjoys it.**


	2. Siriusly?

**Chapter 2: Siriusly?**

"Seriously, Aleks?"

"Sirius Black?"

We were up in our dormitory after the feast, unpacking and getting settled for the school year. Well, we had not actually gotten any of the unpacking or settling done just yet. Julianna and Marie were glaring over me as I sat before them on my four-poster. I didn't like it when they glared at me. It made me fidget uncomfortably. And I do not like to fidget. It makes me even more uncomfortable. And that just isn't comfortable.

"Oh, come on," I said, most likely sounding like a whining child, "It's not as though this is the worst I've done to get away from Erik. You have to admit that, at least."

They just continued to glare at me. Oh dear. The fidgeting is making a comeback. Must. Fight. Glare back. Yes, Aleks. Just glare… and fidget. I bet I look like more of a freak than I usually do. Great.

Marie and Julianna continued to glare, but the effect seemed to be marred by the amused smiles slowly forming on their lips. After about a minute of this, Marie burst out laughing, closely followed by Julianna.

"Aleksandra…your face… is…. hilarious!" Julianna shouted between laughs.

"Oh, thanks," I said sarcastically, "that is the best confidence boost I have gotten all year!"

"Well," Marie said, "You have to admit, seeing you trying to be serious for one second is pretty funny; but combined with the uncomfortable fidgeting… priceless!" She dissolved into uncontrollable laughter as she finished her statement. For some strange reason, this peeved me. And yes, that was sarcasm, dear children.

"Yes, and that makes me feel so much better about myself. No one can take me seriously…. There's got to be someone that takes me seriously… someone out there… maybe a teacher or something… perhaps… no, not him… oh, definitely not her… goodness, this is getting sad… can't even think of someone who takes me seriously…" I had started grumbling to myself and my dear friends continued their laughter. "…Dumbledore!" I finally shouted, "Dumbledore takes me perfectly seriously." I informed my mates matter-of-factly. I was pretty proud of myself because of my accomplishment in figuring out who took me seriously. I could feel a smug smile grow on my face.

And Marie snorted at my accomplishment. That's right, she actually_ snorted_! "Yeah, and how many times have you actually spoken to him?" She asked over Julianna's giggles. Honestly, it's not even that funny!

"Umm… Well, there was that time when… err…. no that doesn't count… Oh! I said hello to him in the halls in third year right after lunch in about the middle of April!" I was happy to be able to remember something that happened so long ago, but my answer just seemed to make the girls in front of me laugh even harder. This was great. I had just dug myself into a hole. Good times, good times.

"You know what?" I asked indignantly, continuing before they could answer, deciding that they were not going to be using very kind words, "I am going to go somewhere where I can be appreciated!" With that, I stood up and walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs. I could still hear their faint chuckles as I headed over to take my usual seat by the fireplace in the common room.

Oh, but there was someone in my armchair. This did not improve my mood one bit. Not one bit.

"You're in my chair." I stated, glaring at the trespasser that seemed to have a death wish. Honestly, everyone knows that the armchair to the left of the fire is my choice of seating. Even the first years found that out from the older and more experienced students.

"Does it have your name on it?" The figure in my chair turned to look at me with a mischievous smile on his face. It was none other than my somewhat-fake boyfriend, Sirius Black.

"Yes," I replied, "As a matter of fact, it does." I don't think he thought that would have been my answer. The look on his face showed me that my suspicions were correct. But then a smirk overtook his features, and he stood up.

"Well, if you could show me where it is…." He said. I took the opportunity to swiftly place myself in the comfortable armchair. I then looked up at him with a smug smile on my face. I was feeling a sense of accomplishment. A feeling of warmth was filling me up as I looked into his laughing grey eyes.

"Here." I said simply. He chuckled softly, and then a mischievous glint started to shine in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't really see it." And before I knew it, he had picked me up in his arms, and then sat down, letting me tumble out of his arms onto the floor. I glared up at him, feeling quite frustrated.

"Not cool." I informed him, standing up so I could look down on him. Oh, I had never been taller than a Marauder before… this was weird. Well, I suppose I should say something witty right about now… Oh wait; I was the last one to speak. Let's see what he says.

Note to self: Stop talking to self in weird manner.

"You know, as my girlfriend, you should learn how to share your possessions with me." He said, as if explaining to me some concept that was difficult to understand.

"You know, as my boyfriend, you should learn how to give me what I want." I bit back in the same tone he had been using. Admittedly, I added a bit more malice to my voice than the situation called for, but his stupidity wasn't helping matters. Now was not the time for any Marauder antics of his. I was so not in the mood.

"Touché." He replied, seeming to finally notice that any witty remark he came up with was not going to make me laugh and/or lighten up in any way, shape or form. This realization didn't make him leave my seat, though. How much of an idiot can you become without wanting to commit suicide? No, wait, don't answer that. He obviously was trying to kill himself, seeing as how he was making me go mad. Unless he didn't actually know how bad my temper could actually get. Sometimes, it even rivalled Evans'. And, even though I hate to admit it, Evans is not someone to make angry if you would like to come out of the conversation alive… unless you're me, of course.

Alright, I think stopping my ranting would be a good option right about now. I can't even remember what I was saying. And that's never a good thing.

"Ugh!" I shouted, startling those around me, "First the dormitory, now the common room! Will I never have a place to be at peace?" I sighed, a bit melodramatically. Sirius laughed quietly at my outburst. I continued to shoot him a glare, letting him know that I was being perfectly serious.

"Why is your dormitory not peaceful, then?" He asked me.

"My friends are berating me for my latest scheme in getting rid of Connors. And it got on my nerves. So if you will excuse me, I shall go to find a place where I can rant to myself in peace." I went to leave the common room, but Sirius held my wrist fast.

"As your boyfriend, it is my duty to let you rant your little heart out to me about anything and everything. What, have you never had a boyfriend or something?" He asked me.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't." I told him, wiping the stupid smirk off his face. But that smirk was only replaced by a raised eyebrow and overall look of disbelief.

"As a matter of fact," he said, using my catchphrase against me, "I find that rather hard to believe."

"And why would you find that hard to believe?" I questioned.

"Because… Well, for one, you're pretty. Not the hottest girl in Hogwarts-"

"Thanks for the boost to my self-esteem." I muttered.

"-but pretty nonetheless. And you happen to be quite funny once someone gathers up the courage to actually talk to you. Which I suppose doesn't happen often, as you seem to give off an air of being unapproachable by humans..." He said, ignoring my disgruntled comment from earlier.

"I thought you were just telling me about how it was unbelievable why you're my first boyfriend," I was somewhat annoyed by the sudden change in topic, "And my friends and I aren't human?"

"No," he said thoughtfully, "I don't think you are human. I'm not quite sure what species, exactly, but definitely not human."

That comment got a half-laugh out of me, and I sat down in the armchair opposite him so as to be more comfortable while talking to my boyfriend- ugh, that was really very weird to say, even in my head.

"Ha!" Sirius said, "I got you to laugh! My distraction tactics are working!" At his words, I remembered why I had been so angry at the world in the first place.

"Not anymore, they're not," said a voice behind me. I turned to see James, Remus, and Peter walking down the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory. It appeared that it was Remus who spoke. I always knew he was the sensible one. Why couldn't he have been the one to agree to be my boyfriend? I only wish he could have…

"Pads, you're not supposed to tell her that you're distracting her, you dork. Then she only remembers why she needed to be distracted in the first place. " James said, shaking his head at his best mate as if Sirius were a small child who had so much to learn. I snorted at the thought of James being the one to teach him everything. Of course, all of the Marauders looked at me questioningly, silently asking me what I found so funny that I would grace it with one of my rare snorts of amusement.

"Nothing," I said, answering their silent questions, "Carry on."

"What were you two talking about before we interrupted?" Peter asked, directing his question more towards Sirius as he and the rest of the Marauders sat down in other available armchairs that also surrounded the fire.

"I honestly have no idea, Wormtail," Sirius answered him. The boys all turned to me, waiting for me to clear it up for them. They obviously forgot that I rant when I had to summarize a situation. Oh well, they'd learn eventually.

"Hmm, let's see," I said, "Oh yes. Well, my friends were freaking out about my chosen scheme to get rid of Connors once and for all- I really do hope it works this time, because this is most likely my last chance, though I slightly doubt it will- so I decided to get away from the weirdoes I call friends and come to sit in my favourite armchair. I always come down here to rant, you see. But it was already occupied by my _darling_ boyfriend. And, of course, I grew even more frustrated, which he didn't help in the least. He only frustrated me further. Then we had a little spat about what a boyfriend and girlfriend should and shouldn't do for each other. Oh, and I almost forgot, he made me fall on my bum. And he told my why I've never had a boyfriend before, when he had actually just said he did not believe me when I had informed him of the fact that he was my first boyfriend- which stinks, really, when you think about it. And then he said my friends and I are not human. And then you lot came into the picture."

"You rant a lot, don't you?" was all James had to say in response to my explanation.

"You're the one that asked… Anyway, I think I'll head up to bed now. All my roommates should be asleep at this late hour."

The boys all nodded their heads to show that they heard what I had said, so I stood and turned to go up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. But then a voice called my name. I turned around to glance back over by the fireplace.

"Goodnight, Aleks." Sirius said softly.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than the rest of the girls in the room. I looked at the clock to see that it read 7:02. Great. Classes don't start for two hours, and I'm already awake. I decided to get out of bed anyway, thinking that I could at least get an actual breakfast rather than half a piece of burnt toast.

I headed to the bathroom. Seeing as I had already taken a shower the night before, I did not have much to do in there besides cleaning my teeth and such. Just as I was exiting the bathroom to change my clothes, I saw a small box on the long counter with a letter on top of it. Curious, I walked over and saw that the note was addressed to me. It read:

_Aleks-_

_ I know how much you despise makeup, but I think you should try this stuff. It's really good. Plus, now you actually have someone to impress._

_ -Julianna_

The rest of the note consisted of how exactly to apply my makeup. This was something Julianna most definitely would do, as she had been trying to get me to wear makeup for the past few years, and I had been refusing. Now she had an excuse to get me to actually start acting like a girl and such.

I considered just crumpling up the note and heading down to breakfast without thinking about it. Then again, Julianna was right; I needed to act the part of Sirius's girlfriend in order for our relationship to seem real to the rest of the student body and, most importantly, Erik. So that's how I ended up spending time I would have liked to use for eating breakfast doing my makeup on the morning of the second of September.

I ended up doing exactly what Julianna's instructions said, even though it included applying a bit more makeup than I most likely normally would wear. But I decided that it was probably better if I just didn't miss anything crucial. I could ask Julianna to tell me how to do more natural looks with my makeup next time I saw her.

So, what with applying makeup and putting a bit more care into my overall appearance, I did not end up in the Great Hall for breakfast as early as I had wanted. In fact, I was there right at my usual time. Jesus, if I knew putting effort into how I looked would take up this much of my time, I don't think I will be doing it very often.

As I walked into the Great Hall that morning, I noticed people staring at me. I walked over to the Gryffindor table to take the place I had occupied last night at the feast. And still, people were staring. They were whispering, too.

"Don't these people have lives to get to? I'm pretty sure there's more to look at than me wearing makeup." I mumbled to Marie, Julianna, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter.

But apparently they weren't listening to me, as they were also gawking at my makeup and hair.

"I knew you would do it," Julianna said, a smug smile on her face.

Sirius and the others seemed to get over my appearance, too, as they started to go about their usual breakfast business.

"You look beautiful." Sirius whispered in my ear. This made me blush slightly, and I gave him a funny look. "I'm serious." He said in reply to the glance I gave him.

"Yes," I said, "I know you're Sirius." He picked up on my joke immediately, but I guessed it was a bit old.

"Seriously?"

**A/N: Awww Aleks is growing up! I hope you liked this chapter. Be sure to let me know about any comments or criticism!**

**Thank you so much to all of those who have favorited, alerted, and reviewed this story. It really means a lot to me, especially since I never thought my story would be this popular, especially since I only had one chapter up!**

**Victoria Bellington: My first reviewer! I officially love you ;) I'm glad you like it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!**

**watchTHEclouds: Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'm glad you like Aleks. She's a bit of a mix of me and some of my favourite people ever, so your review made me very happy. I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**TWHATT18: Thanks so much for reviewing! And I really like Lily too, I just feel like there are way too many fics out there with Lily's best friend falling in love with Sirius. I felt like I needed to spice things up a bit. ;D**

**kitsune-mike-witch: Thank you so much for reviewing! I feel loved. **

**CYBER HUGS TO ALL OF YOU GUYS! **


	3. Classes Are Cool Or Not

**Chapter 3: Classes Can Be Cool… Or Not**

Professor McGonagall started walking down Gryffindor table, discussing with the Sixth Years which courses they would like to take that their OWL scores would allow. I thought over in my mind of what courses I had decided on after receiving my results. I had chosen, with the help of Julianna and Marie, and that I would continue to take Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy.

I was pretty sure that Professor McGonagall would allow me to take all of these classes, even though I would only get one free period because I would only be dropping History of Magic and Astronomy. Well, at least I would be getting full nights of sleep every day of the week instead of getting up at midnight to listen to boring lectures on big balls of fire and gas a gazillion miles away from earth. Really, I didn't even see the point of taking that class. One time I actually did question the professor on the real point of the class and how it helped us with our various future careers, and all she gave me was a smirk. But no explanation escaped her lips. Even she thought the class was completely pointless. I think she only teaches it because she needs the money.

"Hello, Miss Giggel," Professor McGonagall said, interrupting my musings on the pointlessness of some courses in Hogwarts.

"Hello, Professor," I said, smiling sweetly at her. I knew the lecture was coming. It was quite inevitable.

"Miss Giggel, I see that you have gotten all O's…except in Astronomy and History of Magic, in which you received T's. Care to explain?"

"Well, Professor," I began as the Marauders, Marie, and Julianna started to snort into their cereal, "I am, as you know, a very smart person. So I saw it as an insult to my intelligence to be required to take OWLs on such stupid and pointless subjects as History of Magic and Astronomy. So, instead of studying for said pointless subjects, I put my time and effort into studying for my other, more important, examinations. This effort did help me to receive O's in all of my other exams, so I'm sure you understand."

"Miss Giggel, you didn't even show up to the exam," At this, my friends started full-out laughing. Thanks for the support, guys. Really, could not ask for better friends. "And I am pretty sure that, no matter how 'pointless' a subject may be, you must at least be in attendance for all of your OWLs."

"But, Professor," I said, "I spent that time studying for exams that would actually determine my future. You must agree with me when I say that those subjects, no matter how important it is to turn up for their exams, will not help me with any career that I may choose to follow."

At this, the young Head looked slightly flustered. Aw, how cute. I think she probably agreed with my way of thinking, but did not want to admit it. "Very well." She said, moving on to the rest of the Gryffindors that needed help with their schedules.

Sirius snorted beside me as Professor McGonagall handed everyone else their schedules. When she left, he couldn't hold it in and started laughing again, only much louder. I could see Erik across the Hall, glaring at him. Oh goody, I made my sort-of-ex angry. This is just what I wanted. And that last comment was only half sarcastic.

I stood up to leave for Gryffindor Tower, as I needed to grab the required books for my classes of the morning.

"Oi! Where're you going, Aleks?" I sighed as I slowly turned on my heel to see Sirius struggling to finish his breakfast in a hurry. Honestly, he could be such a pig sometimes.

"I'm going to class, if you don't mind." I replied.

"Do you mind waiting for your boyfriend?" He asked as he stood up to join me by the doors that led out to the Entrance Hall.

I looked around the Great Hall and spotted Erik glaring at Sirius and me. I sighed.

"I suppose not, but only because Connors is giving us the death glare, so I'd rather not be caught alone in the dungeons by his friends or something. Not that I couldn't handle it myself, of course," I added, "but I believe it would be terribly inconvenient to receive a detention on the first day of classes, whether it is for being late or for duelling, don't you agree?" I inquired.

"I suppose," he said quietly, "But it really depends on who you're duelling with and whether it was worth a detention." He added with a grin. I rolled my eyes and continued my journey up to the seventh floor, trying to count out how many steps it took to make it to my destination. I don't think I've every realized how many steps it takes to reach Gryffindor Tower from the Great Hall. There were more than a few.

"So…" Sirius said into the silence that overtook us, "What's your schedule this morning?" I checked my schedule, and then groaned.

"I've got Ancient Runes first thing, then Arithmancy, then Transfiguration." I said in what could be called a slightly self-pitying way, but I did not care, "Why must I have my hardest subjects first thing in the morning?" I asked rhetorically.

"Well, look at it this way," Sirius said, sounding like one of those stupid optimists I hear so much about, "Now you've got them over with for the rest of the day! You've got nothing to dread this afternoon!" I laughed at this, showing that I agreed with him. I was slightly surprised to find that I liked his optimistic answer to my question.

Finally, we made it to the Common Room, and we parted ways to our dormitories. After I packed my bag carefully, making sure I remembered everything that I might need for my morning classes, I looked into the mirror that hung on the back of our dormitory door.

I hadn't really had the chance to check my appearance before going down to breakfast, seeing as I had been running late. As I peered into the mirror, I saw a pretty redhead with pin-straight elbow-length hair stare back. She had pale blue eyes that were accented by the light brown eye shadow dusted across her lids, along with a thin line of brown-black eyeliner. Her light coat of mascara made her already-long eyelashes nearly brush the top of her cheeks. Her pale skin looked creamy and smooth, with a very light blush across her cheeks, reminding me of the pictures I had seen of regal queens of England. A light shimmer made her lips look round and the small close-lipped smile she wore brightened up her face. I was finding it hard to believe that the girl was, in fact, me. I finally understood why everyone had been staring at me during breakfast. I looked nothing like myself…. It looked like I had actually bothered with my appearance for once.

After this quick look in the mirror, I headed downstairs to find Sirius waiting for me. Without a word, we both turned and walked through the portrait hole, heading off to Ancient Runes. It was halfway to my classroom that I found something slightly suspicious.

"I thought you took Muggle Studies?" I asked him.

"I do." He said, nodding his head.

I looked at him, raising my eyebrow. "Muggle Studies is on the opposite side of the castle from my Ancient Runes classroom, moron."

He glanced at me through the corner of his eye. "I suppose it is," was all he said in response. I shook my head slightly, wondering if he had ever had an ounce of sanity in his life, but let the subject drop. Let him be stupid if he wishes.

So we kept on walking in silence, stopping when we reached my classroom. I turned to face him.

"Well, have fun being late for Muggle Studies." I said brightly, about to turn around and walk into the classroom to take my usual seat between Marie and Julianna, who had already packed their bags when I had been in the bathroom earlier this morning trying to figure out how eyeliner worked without poking my eye out.

Sirius stopped me before I could turn, and, after glancing at something over my shoulder, gave me a soft peck on the cheek before smirking and walking away. I stood there in shock for a second, and then turned around, intending to take my usual seat yet again. And, yet again, I was stopped. Erik Connors stood in front of me, smirking slightly.

"What're you all dressed up for, Aleksandra? Trying to make me jealous?" He asked with a stupid knowing smirk on his lips. I rolled my eyes at his arrogant behaviour.

"You wish, Connors." I said, striding past him to finally take my seat in the Ancient Runes classroom.

"Oh, but it's not like all of this is for your new boyfriend's benefit. I'd go so far as to say that this whole boyfriend scheme is just to make me jealous. Make me appreciate you more." He said quite arrogantly. I really just wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face.

"And that's where you're wrong. Please take your seat so that our lesson may take place and I do not have to look at your ugly mug any longer."

He shot me a dirty look, but turned and slouched over to his assigned place. As he sat down, the bell rang and my first class of my sixth year at Hogwarts began. If only it weren't something so frustrating.

"Gah! I can't find this one in the dictionary!" Marie said a few minutes later, after the class had been assigned a review project to work on in groups.

"Look, Marie, it is right there," said Julianna, pointing at the middle of the page where the rune could, in fact, be found, "Honestly, you two have no patience for schoolwork."

"Oh, Julianna, don't go all Lily on us!" I said, referring to the redhead who seemed to enjoy giving my friends and me lectures on our studying habits, or lack thereof.

Julianna glared at me, and then went back to the assignment that Marie and I had been neglecting for the past ten minutes, only pretending we were trying. It was quite amusing to see who was the most convincing out of all of us to look like we were studying. It had been a game between us ever since third year when dearest Lillian had got it in her head that we needed to study more. We had soon learned that she was not going to leave us alone about it unless we at least appeared to be studying. Now, we were used to picking up a book every time we sensed her presence.

Marie and I proceeded to look around the room and joke around until the bell rang, and then ran to our next classes, her to Divination while Julianna and I headed to Arithmancy. I don't know about Julianna, but I was pretty pumped for an entire period of numbers and mathematical equations… Note the sarcasm.

When we arrived at our classroom, I was surprised to see Sirius sitting in a row with an extra two seats, in front of James and Remus' row, rather than next to Remus like he has sat since third year when we first started taking this class. Julianna and I began to walk past the laughing and joking Marauders, towards our usual spots in the very back row. But then we heard something I never thought we'd hear.

"Hey! Aleks, Julianna! Come over here!"

We turned around slowly to see James waving over to us from his seat in the middle of the room. Julianna and I glanced at each other; we were surprised by the attention we were receiving from the most popular guys ever to walk the halls of Hogwarts. I still wasn't even used to the fact that one of them had agreed to be my somewhat-fake boyfriend, let alone the fact that he and his friends actually wanted to talk to us in their free time. Slowly, we strolled over to the blokes, trying to look as confident and strong as we normally do, though we both knew that we were slightly intimidated by the boys in front of us.

As we reached them, Sirius gestured for me to take the seat next to him, and I did, pulling Julianna into the seat on my other side.

"Sirius, you do know that you only have to act like my boyfriend in front of Connors and his cronies, right?" I asked, glancing at him sideways as I unloaded my book, parchment, quill and ink from my bag. "You know that he and all his friends take Care of Magical Creatures and not Arithmancy, probably because this subject is too difficult for their peanut-sized brains, right?"

"Aleks, you do know that you said 'boyfriend' not 'pretend boyfriend' when you were trying to escape the snake's fangs, right?" I sighed.

"And that was the one flaw in my brilliant plan…" I mumbled.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said, "Only I ended up practically committing suicide just by running into your train compartment yesterday…" I added under my breath. Julianna, who had been the only one to hear my quiet musings, chuckled softly.

**A/N: Hey guys! I hope you all liked this chapter, be sure to let me know! I know I'm not one to beg for reviews or hold my stories ransom or anything, but I think a review would be nice, especially to help me with some sub-plots or to come up with new characters. I promise, I will most definitely give credit to all who help me out!**

**And, as always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, and read my story! It really means a lot to me!**

**kittyprettypryde: Thanks so much for the review, I'm glad you like it!**

**TWHATT18: Thanks for reviewing again! I added a bit of Erik just for you ;) I guarantee there will be much more of him in future.**

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	4. The Contract

**Chapter 4: The Contract**

Out of the very corner of my eye, I saw him approaching my table. He's in my safe haven, I thought this was the one place he would not bother me! Why is he in here?

I was sitting in the back corner of the library, the one part that wasn't lit properly, nearly neglected by the mad librarian, Miss Pince. The table I was sitting at was known as my table to anyone that cared- only stupid gossiping girls- just like my armchair by the fire. So I knew he could find me if he bothered to ask around or something, but I didn't think he even knew where the library was. What's wrong with this boy, knowing how to find the library? Disgusting!

I waited as Sirius made his way around all the tables in the library, heading towards me. Seriously, all I needed was some quiet time away from him! Not that I didn't enjoy his company or anything, but he could really get annoying. Maybe I need to set some ground rules for our "relationship."

He finally made it all the way to the dusty back corner of the library and took a seat next to me. I pretended to be concentrating on my essay that had something to do with Transfiguration. Apparently, he did not enjoy my tactic of somewhat-politely avoiding conversation. He cleared his throat after a few minutes to announce his presence.

"What are you doing?" He finally asked after I continued to ignore him for several minutes, looking through Transfiguration books. So far, I had found nothing that would aid me in the creation of my soon-to-be wonderful essay I did not know the topic of yet.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked. After a moment of silence on his part, I added, "I'm ignoring you."

"By writing an essay that doesn't exist? That would be kind of a waste of time, if you ask me." He replied.

"Well, I am not asking you, thank you very- hold on a second. We don't have any homework in Transfiguration, do we?" I couldn't believe I had just wasted an hour of my time trying to remember what I was supposed to write about when we hadn't had any homework. Needless to say, I felt very stupid. But there was no need to admit this to present company, of course.

He laughed and shook his head, smiling slightly. "How long have you been working on that essay?"

"Long enough," I grumbled, feeling disgusted with myself for not remembering that we didn't have any homework. I mean, that was rare in Transfiguration class. How could I have not remembered? He chuckled, but didn't comment. I sighed as I packed away all Transfiguration supplies and pulled out my Ancient Runes work. I started on it and Sirius stayed silent for a good half hour, maybe more.

Nearly done with the short assignment I had been given, I glanced up to have a quick look around the library to see if there were still people in there and check the time. This was when I first noticed Sirius staring at me absentmindedly. I chose to ignore this fact and continue to search for a clock on the wall. After discovering that it was about quarter to nine, I continued my work, set on finishing the Runes assignment before nine, which was when I normally returned to the Common Room for recreation and relaxation with my friends. After a little while when my eyes got tired, I glanced up again and he was still staring at me.

About a minute after this, I glanced up again.

"Will you quit staring at me? It's unnerving." I said.

"What? You don't enjoy my staring at your beauty?" He asked. I laughed loudly, and received a disapproving glance from Miss Pince.

"If you think I'm beautiful, you need to visit the optometrist." I quipped.

"And why would that be?" He asked, smiling slightly.

"Because you need your eyes checked. I am nowhere near beautiful." I laughingly said.

"Au contraire, Mademoiselle, I think you are very beautiful. Perhaps it's you who needs to visit the optometrist." He said, sounding serious.

If I were a normal girl, I would have blushed profusely and just accepted his compliment. But when did I ever say I was a normal girl?

"No, I have perfect vision. I went to the optometrist the day before yesterday." He laughed at my comeback, but dropped the subject.

At about five after nine, I finished the Runes assignment. Pleased with my accomplishment, I started to pack all of my things away. Sirius started to help, which slightly startled me. I had forgotten that he was even there. He had been so quiet while I worked; this was something I was quite grateful for. I had not known it was possible for anyone, especially a Marauder, to be silent as one of their friends did their homework. As I thought about it, the effort he probably put into not annoying me anymore or making me angry made me smile slightly. I always valued friends that would put forth such pains for the convenience of their companions, even if it was something as small as being quiet.

Silently, we headed out of the library. As we reached the doors, Sirius walked ahead to open the door for me. I looked at him, shocked that he would do an action that was so gentlemanly. He simply looked back, so I decided to just walk through the door and pause to wait for him as he closed the door again.

"Thank you." I said. He nodded.

And that was when I decided that the way our relationship had been working was very, very awkward. We barely ever spoke to each other, and when we did, it was quiet and about nothing important whatsoever. So, I decided to start a conversation that I knew would lead to some possible laughter from the both of us because, honestly, I was going through withdrawals resulting from minimal laughter. After all, laughter is the third greatest gift in this world.

"So… Could you not tell anyone that I had been working on a non-existent Transfiguration essay for an hour and a half?" I asked. He looked at me, a trace of a smirk on his face. I could tell he was trying to hide it.

"You were working on that essay for an hour and a half and the thought that you didn't have any homework didn't even cross your mind?" He asked me, a hint of laughter in his voice. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly myself.

"Well… No. But can you really blame me, with a teacher like McGonagall?"

"Hmmm… I suppose I can understand that you would think it impossible for her not to assign us anything. But honestly, you worked on that for an hour and a half? You could have asked me what the assignment was!"

"Yes, I suppose I could have," I said, "However, I chose not to leave my comfortable seat at my table in the library. You could have come earlier."

"Are you seriously blaming me for you not wanting to move your lazy bum?" He asked me incredulously.

"Why, yes," I answered rather matter-of-factly, "Yes, I am."

Cue disbelieving laughter coming from the mouth of my boyfriend as we walked through the portrait hole.

As we entered the common room together, I searched for my friends, and spotted them sitting in our usual seats by the fire. I waved to my girls and headed toward my armchair, leaving Sirius behind to go find his friends, whom I had seen sitting at a table by one of the windows.

As I reached them, I threw my backpack next to theirs on the coffee table, as was our ritual every evening. These bags would soon be forgotten as the burdens of school were lifted from our minds by laughter we caused each other.

"Salut, mon amies," I said in French, like we had every evening since first year, "Ça va?"

"Oui, ça va," They replied. Then we all laughed. I don't know when or how this tradition started, but all I remembered was that it was very funny. That faintly remembered emotion from way back when was enough to make me laugh. It was just so natural for me to laugh at everything. I mean, imagine a world without laughter. Quite depressing, I should think.

Anyway, I sat down in my usual spot and looked at Marie and Julianna.

"Do you guys even remember how that all started?" Julianna asked, referring to the little French we had just spoken.

"No idea," I replied, "I was just wondering about that, actually."

"Oh, you two don't remember what happened in first year?" Marie asked, seeming surprised at our lack of memory. We both shook our heads, looking at her and waiting for her to relate the story.

"Oh, well, Aleks was trying to wow us with her knowledge of French or something-"

"Sounds like something she would do," Julianna snorted. Marie and I both shot her a glare, "Oh, sorry. Please continue with your wonderful story, Marie."

"Yes, as I was saying before being rudely interrupted," Julianna made a noise of protest, which Marie ignored, "Aleks was trying to wow us with her knowledge of French, saying 'Salut, ça va?' And, as I started to try to figure out which language she was speaking, a fourth year behind us replied 'Oui, ça va,' and we've said it ever since. Not a very good story, but I consider it as something of high importance. I mean, it has to do with our general awesomeness, so of course it is quite important." She added, speaking the last bit in a snooty dialect with her nose in the air, making Julianna and me snort with laughter.

"Now I remember." Julianna said after her laughter subsided, looking at me.

"I still have no recollection of this, but it is, as Marie put it, a very important piece of our history." I said, and we all continued to laugh again. It had always been very easy to make us laugh, and the happiness we felt with being reunited after the summer just made our spirits rise even higher, making the chance of giggling rise with it.

We continued to laugh and joke around together for ten minutes, but all three of us stopped abruptly when we heard a voice coming from behind me.

"Hello, ladies," said the voice of Sirius Black. I turned to look at him, and noticed that the rest of the Marauders were with him, "What are we talking about?"

"Nothing," Julianna, Marie, and I answered a little too quickly. Gosh darn it; we have to practice lying when we aren't expecting to have to. We're so good at it when having to lie to a teacher, but when we are caught off guard; one could compare us to guilty seven-year-olds after stealing a cookie before dinner.

In truth, we had been reminiscing on a prank we had framed the Marauders for because Peter had copied off Julianna in Potions in third year. To be honest, it was one of the best pranks we had ever pulled, and also one of the simplest. But details didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that the Marauders did not know who exactly had framed them, and we were planning on keeping it that way.

"It was nothing important," I said smoothly in answer to all four of the boys' disbelieving looks, "Did you need something?"

"Only to spend time with my girlfriend," Said Sirius, sitting down on the large couch that was situated between mine and Julianna's armchairs, closest to me. James sat down next to him, followed by Peter and Remus.

"Oh…" I said, looking to Marie for help. She was good at scaring boys away, and she knew it. She caught the look I sent her, and then turned her attention to the boys seated in our circle.

"Sorry," She said, not sounding at all apologetic, "But this is Aleks's friend time. Aleks, Julianna, and I always catch up at this time, so I'm afraid you're going to have to go away."

Sirius looked slightly put out at my rejection, but quickly recovered, "Yes, but as her boyfriend, I have a right to be able to hang out with her during our mutual free time."

"You were just hanging out with her for two hours in the library!" Julianna exclaimed.

"Yes, but she was studying for most of that time. Is it such a crime that a bloke enjoys his girlfriend's company?" He countered. I could see Julianna and Marie growing impatient. Oh dear, I should probably intervene… But I could tell that this was going to become interesting, so I instead leant back and made myself comfortable. I wish I had some every flavour beans or something…

"No, but I do think that she deserves some girl time away from her fake boyfriend." Marie replied to his question.

"Whoever said anything about fake?" Sirius asked.

My friends faltered for a second, "No one…" Marie said.

"But it is most obviously implied." Julianna said. She always did have an answer for everything, whether it sounded stupid or not.

"Implied or not, Aleks is officially my not-fake girlfriend, so I feel I have the right to occupy her time whenever we feel it is necessary." Sirius replied easily.

"But you can't just take her away from us!" Juliana said.

"Yeah, Aleks is our best friend; she needs to spend time with us!" Marie added.

"Guys," I said, finally intervening, "As much as I love to hear you fight over me, this is getting annoying. How about we all hang out together?"

"Do you really expect us-"

"-to hang out with _them_?" Julianna and Marie asked me, clearly disgusted with the solution I was proposing. Personally, I thought it was brilliant.

"Or maybe not…" I mumbled.

"Oh, is our company not good enough for you?" James asked my friends, speaking for the first time.

"No." They replied at the same time. At least they were firm in their decision…

"This is obviously going nowhere," Remus said as James glared at the girls.

"I propose we make up a contract," Peter said, "You know, for Aleks and Sirius's relationship. Set rules and guidelines." I looked at Peter, wondering if he had been dropped as a baby.

"That's brilliant, Pete!" James said, "Then we don't have to deal with their complaints all the time!"

Julianna looked at James, disgusted by his presence, "I'm sorry, but it's _us_ that won't have to deal with _you_ all the time." She informed him.

Remus ignored our friends' bickering and turned to Sirius and me, "So, what do you say? We can write it up right now so we won't have to deal with this any longer." He said, waving his hand at Marie, Julianna, and James arguing over whether regular or sweet potatoes were better. I was wondering how their conversation had taken that turn when Sirius interrupted my thoughts.

"Okay." He said, and then looked at me. I nodded my head, staring at our squabbling friends. I was now being amused by their disagreement of whether fried egg or sunny side up was better. What was up with our friends and food?

"Will you guys just shut up?" Peter shouted irritably. Immediately, the bickering halted.

"I wonder what's got him so cranky…" James muttered. Marie and Julianna nodded in agreement.

And so we started on the contract. After a few hours and many more arguments between our friends, it was finished.

_The Contract for the Relationship of Miss Aleksandra Alison Crystal Genevieve Jacalynn Sarah Giggel and Sirius Orion Black_

_As of Second September Nineteen Seventy-Six_

_The time spent together shall be determined by the day of the week and the amount of work assigned to each on that day._

_On Mondays and Wednesdays, Miss Giggel shall spend both her time on homework and time for recreation with her friends, Miss McConnell and Miss Andrews. Mister Black and fellow Marauders may join her if said friends permit his company._

_On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Miss Giggel shall spend both her time on homework and time for recreation with Mister Black and fellow Marauders. Miss McConnel and Miss Andrews may join her if said Marauders permit their company._

_On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Miss Giggel shall spend her time however she wishes with whomever she wishes._

_The Guidelines for behaviour toward each other are to be as follows:_

_-Mister Black must keep Mister Connors from causing physical or emotional harm to Miss Giggel._

_-Miss Giggel may not refer to Mister Black with nicknames deemed "ridiculous" by Mister Black._

_-Mister Black may not refer to Miss Giggel with nicknames deemed "ridiculous" by Miss Giggel._

_-Both parties are to be treated with respect by each other. This includes friends of Miss Giggel and Mister Black._

_-Miss Giggel and Mister Black may not cheat on each other with someone else._

_-Miss Giggel and Mister Black must keep all secrets told to each other._

_-Miss Giggel and Mister Black must be truthful with one another at all times._

_-Public displays of affection are to be kept to a minimum of kisses on the cheek._

_-Friends of Miss Giggel and Mister Black are not to argue with each other over things as ridiculous as slippers. The rate of ridiculousness shall be determined by a neutral party._

_Guidelines may be added to this contract with the consent of all parties signed._

_If this contract is to be breached by any of the parties signed, a fitting punishment shall be determined by another party signed, and this party shall be voted on by the rest of the parties signed._

_Signed,_

_Aleksandra Alison Crystal Genevieve Jacalynn Sarah Giggel_

_Sirius Orion Black_

_Julianna Nicolette Andrews_

_Marie Isabelle McConnel_

_James Charles Potter_

_Peter Collin Pettigrew_

_Remus John Lupin_

"Well… That's it; our relationship in a contract." I said.

"Yeah, it is," said Sirius, and then he turned to Remus, "Why is her name always first?"

**A/N: Well here it is! Even though this chapter isn't much longer than any of the others, I do have a few more comments than usual on it.**

**Did anyone get the Muppets (2011) reference? Anyone who guesses it gets a cyber-cookie from me!**

**Any suggestions for the contract? I know I haven't covered everything, and that's for a reason, but I'm not positive on what I should add.**

**I am not from England, but I hope it's not painfully obvious that I am American (I mean, some of my ancestors come from England, not that that matters at all…). I try to use British slang, and Microsoft Word helps me out with British spelling. If I'm using anything incorrectly, could my British readers please inform me?**

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	5. A Good Boyfriend Teachers and Quidditch

**Chapter 5: A Good Boyfriend, Teachers, and Quidditch**

The next morning, Tuesday, started out much more smoothly than Monday had been. For one, I had woken up at the same time as Julianna and Marie so they helped me with my makeup, hair, and jewellery. I think I looked quite fancy.

My hair was in a half-up style with the top layer pinned back with shiny clips. My makeup was very light and natural, and looked infinitely better than it had yesterday, even if Julianna insisted that it looked quite nice for a beginner yesterday.

I wore a necklace with a golden lion on it in honour of my House. I borrowed it from Marie, who never wears any jewellery besides her family necklace anyway. She said I could keep it if I promised to wear it often. It was so pretty and delicate that I wasn't sure if I wouldn't lose it right after I took it off tonight.

Even with all this preparation to go downstairs, we managed to make it to the Great Hall at the time that I had wanted to get down there on Monday. How does that happen?

Anyway, we made it into the Great Hall and about a quarter of the way through breakfast without incident. For once, the atmosphere around us was quiet and peaceful. I could get used to that. But when we were partway through our meal, the Marauders came to join us. And with the boys came the destruction of the peace that had settled around us.

"What do you mean the Tornadoes could beat out Puddlemere? You're mad!" Sirius was saying rather loudly to Remus.

"Are you joking? They could beat them out anytime they wanted to! They've got Kromac as their Seeker!" Remus said in reply.

"No, Remus," James interjected, "Puddlemere's got Johnson and Adlersen; they're easily two of the best Chasers to play the game of Quidditch."

Peter said nothing, but not because he was shy or anything like that; I happened to know that he was a proud supporter of the Appleby Arrows. He obviously didn't really care about these other two teams.

As the Marauders sat down, Sirius gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and said, "Hey, sweets."

"No, you can't call me that," I said in a sing-song voice, "It's in the contract." I said in response to his questioning look that he sent my way.

"Oh, come on, 'sweets?' You can't possibly deem that ridiculous." Sirius said in response.

"Yes I can. In fact, I just did." I said matter-of-factly.

"That's nowhere near as ridiculous as the ones he could come up with," Remus told me, "Just take it before you earn yourself a new nickname."

I sighed but conceded. Remus had a point and I didn't like the look in my boyfriend's eye.

"So you were discussing Puddlemere and the Tornadoes?" Marie asked.

"Puddlemere would crush the Tornadoes, obviously," I said. I earned approving smiles from James and Sirius, "But not because of their Chasers; it's definitely because they've got the best Beaters currently in the league. Crole and Taylor are absolutely brilliant." The smiles slid off the boys' faces.

But before they could say anything, Marie and Julianna both shouted, "Nuh-uh!"

"Tornadoes would totally cream Puddlemere!" Marie said, "Their Keeper is amazing! Cole can catch anything!"

"No! Neither Puddlemere nor Tornadoes could possibly hope to even come close to surviving a match against the Wasps! Come on, guys, I thought we had this discussion yesterday!" Julianna objected.

"The Wasps may be flashy, but they're no match for the Arrows!" Peter said, finally contributing to the conversation.

That's mostly how our breakfast went, including lots more shouting and fireworks. It must have been quite amusing to an outsider.

It was far too soon that we had to leave the Great Hall in order to make it to class. As we were walking, I noticed that we were about to pass Erik, so I grabbed Sirius's hand and continued the side conversation we had had during breakfast about our brooms. It turned out he preferred Cleansweeps to the classic Nimbus. As we walked by, I didn't turn to see his expression, but I could feel Erik's gaze boring into the back of my head. I didn't like that feeling.

We rounded the corner that led to the hallway which contained the Fat Lady and the entrance to Gryffindor Common Room when I saw him.

Jakub Cranden is the third cutest guy in seventh year currently attending Hogwarts. He is in Gryffindor and probably the best Chaser on the team (No offense to James or anything). And he doesn't look too bad either. He's very muscular and has short black hair and bright green eyes. He's very tan and tall, and a smile is almost always on his face.

As soon as I saw Jakub, I released Sirius's hand and jumped into the very middle of the group that was made up of my friends and the Marauders. They were debating the pros and cons of Puddlemere United, but that didn't really matter at the time. The bewildered expression on Sirius's face would have made me laugh, though, had the circumstances not been as they were.

When Cranden and his friends passed, they barely even turned to look our way. The only acknowledgement they showed to the boys were those weird semi-nod things that boys tend to do. They paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to me, Marie, or Julianna. I'm not going to say I wasn't disappointed about this, because I was. After all these years, he still didn't even acknowledge the fact that I existed?

I immediately felt guilty, however, when I looked over to my boyfriend. I was an idiot for acting like one of those stupid air-headed girls I always made fun of. And both Marie and Julianna either didn't realize my discomfort at the situation or decided to laugh at it along with the actual situation that had just played out before them.

"Still?" Marie managed to gasp out between giggles. I felt my cheeks start to burn and knew that I was blushing. Oh Merlin. This only seemed to add to their laughter.

The blokes around us still seemed confused about what just transpired, and for that I was grateful. I continued to walk down the corridor toward the portrait of the Fat Lady with as much dignity as I could muster. I muttered "dragon breath" when I reached her and stepped into the Common Room, stomping across the room to the girls' staircase. Marie and Julianna followed me, still giggly, and I dragged them up to our dormitories behind me.

"Why must you giggle?" I asked them as I hurriedly packed my bag for morning classes.

"Umm… because it's funny?" Julianna said as if I had asked a trick question. "I didn't know you were still obsessed with him."

"Me neither," Marie said, "but the looks on the boys' faces were simply priceless."

"First, it's not an obsession. It's more of a fascination. Second, I can't exactly be fascinated with him anymore, now can I? I currently have a boyfriend. Oh no," I said, sitting down hard on my bed, "What am I going to say to him? What if he's figured out why I was acting that way?"

"He knows that you've only decided to be his girlfriend to get away from Erik. Sirius can't possibly expect you to act like a normal girlfriend just yet. It's not like you two have had feelings for each other a very long time or anything. I doubt you really have feelings for each other yet at all." Julianna said soothingly as she sat down on the bed beside me. I really appreciated the fact that she knew just when to turn serious for me.

"Thanks," I said, standing up to go downstairs to class and to Sirius. I may have been embarrassed, but it has taken a lot more to really embarrass me in the past.

When the girls and I reached the Common Room, we saw that the Marauders were already there and waiting. I walked up to Sirius and we set off to Defence Against the Dark Arts holding hands.

"So…" he said as we walked through the winding hallways of the castle, "Jakub?" He asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Oh, don't remind me, that was horribly embarrassing, even – or maybe especially- for me."

"I find it kind of hilarious. You know, if we were just friends, I totally would have helped you with him."

"Oh, don't even joke. You're not angry?" I asked.

"Why would I be? It's not like we've got the most normal relationship or anything. How can I expect you to drop your… fascination? Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that demanding." He responded.

"Funny… That's exactly what Julianna guaranteed me you would say."

"Well, I suppose Julianna just knows blokes pretty well." He said with a wink. I nudged him with my elbow but did not say anything as we walked on.

After a bit of quiet thinking, I spoke into the silence that had developed around us.

"You know, you're actually a surprisingly good boyfriend," I said as we walked into the classroom.

"And how is that surprising to you?" He said with fake incredulity.

I laughed as I turned to face him. He brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into my face back behind my ear. Behind him, I caught sight of Erik Connors glaring at us. So, as I am wont to do, I irritated him even more. I stood up on my tiptoes and slowly placed a deliberate kiss on his cheek.

Sirius and I smiled at each other and then sat down as the bell rang. I snuck a peek around Sirius to Erik and saw him steaming mad. I sent a smirk his way and then turned to the professor as he began his lecture.

*** PAGE BREAK ***

I twirled the eagle feather quill around and around and around in my hands as Professor Quirke continued to lecture on the matter we had learned last year. Sirius, beside me, was taking notes. I never thought of him as a note-taking person but his were neat and perfectly phrased. I decided I could copy them later if I needed to instead of listening to Quirke drone on and on about… something.

"-Aleksandra?" The professor asked.

"Aleks." I said automatically, causing the class to chuckle. My dear professor, however, did not find my comment as hilarious as I knew it was.

"Aleksandra," he said, "Could you please tell me the answer to my question?"

Sirius tapped me on the hand and slid a piece of parchment, which looked like his notes, toward me for me to read. However, as the rather smart girl I am, I did not read the last line he wrote blindly to the class. Thank Merlin I did, because it read:

**I'm sorry professor, but I'm an idiot who doesn't pay attention and depends on my wonderful boyfriend's perfect notes when I need to do an assignment in class.**

I smirked and shook my head slightly at him, but instead I said, "I'm sorry Professor Quirke, I couldn't understand what you were saying. The wind outside is quite loud, and I am at the back of the classroom next to the windows."

I silently prayed that he believed me and it was still windy outside. No one laughed after I said this, so I took it as a good sign.

Quirke smiled at me with a look that told me to start planning my funeral and then continued with his lecture.

I picked up my quill and took the parchment he had been using to take notes and wrote a note to Sirius:

_-Nice try. How did you know that was my plan?_

He read it and then picked up his quill and responded.

**-Because that was always my plan whenever I sat next to Remus until he finally got sick of it.**

_-Quirke didn't even ask a question, did he?_

**-Nope. But it was completely obvious that you weren't paying attention.**

_-Very perceptive, isn't he?_

**-Agreed. So what were you thinking about as you made it obvious that you weren't paying attention?**

_-Nothing. My mind was completely blank._

**-Would you be offended if I said I didn't believe you?**

_-Said it? No. Wrote it? Yes, very._

**-Well, aren't you hilarious. I suppose I'll just assume you were musing on my stunning good looks and how lucky you are to be my girlfriend.**

_-Oh, you've got me there. Except for the "lucky" bit._

**-I knew it. But seriously, what were you thinking about?**

_-That I need to copy your notes tonight in the library._

**-And what makes you think I would allow you to do such a thing?**

_-Actually, I didn't think you would. So I was plotting a way to steal them from you if my first plan failed._

**-What was your first plan, then?**

_-Flirt with you until you gave them up._

**-And your second plan?**

_-It wasn't too good. I would threaten to cheat on you with some other bloke that happened to be walking by. I must say, though, my third is the best._

**-I don't know if you would have to even go as far as the second plan. The first option seemed pretty good to me, although I am curious as to what your third plan would be.**

_-I would need a pineapple, some rope, and a whole lot of lipstick. But that's all I'm telling you._

As I was about to pass the note back so Sirius could read my response, Professor Quirke snatched the piece of parchment up from my hands. Oh, dear Merlin save me.

"Bonjour Monsieur," I said, "Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually. I was wondering what was again distracting you from my class."

"Nothing… The lectures of this class can easily make me look for a distraction."

He glared at me and I shrank back in my seat. "Shall I read your conversation with Mister Black to the class?"

"There's really no need for that, sir. You see-"

"Enough," he stopped me with yet another glare and then began to read from the parchment, "It seems Mister Black started with 'I'm sorry, professor…' oh this must be what he wished for Aleksandra to tell me in response to my question earlier. Very good Mister Black, 'needed to copy your notes…' At least you were planning on studying…"

I kept zoning out as he was talking. I believe Quirke thought he was embarrassing me. But the truth is, he was just as terribly boring as he was while he lectured. I tried to look as if I were mortified and paying attention so the professor wouldn't feel the need to start handing out detentions. Because there really isn't any reason that would be necessary.

"'… your first plan, then?' Yes, what was your first plan, Aleksandra? '… flirt with you until you gave them up…' You'd better hope Mister Black isn't in a relationship, Miss Giggel." He said, glaring at me. I tried not to let my distress show.

"Actually, I am his girlfriend, so it's perfectly alright." I said defiantly.

Professor Quirke didn't answer because at that moment, the bell rang. I practically ran out of that classroom. Sirius caught up with me when I was halfway down the Defence corridor.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

"What was all what about?" I asked.

"Why was Quirke glaring at you like that? And why did he keep calling you by your first name?"

Merlin, this boy is perceptive, isn't he?

"Sorry, don't know what you're talking about. Shall we go to Potions early to see if Snape beats us there? I do hope the grease from his hair doesn't drip into a potion, I could do without an explosion for one morning."

Sirius saw right through my distraction tactics, but let them go like the good boyfriend he is.

*** PAGE BREAK ***

The rest of the week went by surprisingly well. I took notes in most of my classes, and when I didn't, Sirius let me copy his without much persuasion.

Everyone seemed to be following the contract. The girls and Marauders got on surprisingly well, and for the most part allowed each other around when I was required to be with them.

But now it was Friday night and I was finally left alone. The person I chose to be around was no one and I was revelling in my loneliness.

I was thinking about how we hadn't been pranking at all lately. The girls and I needed to do that soon to keep up our skills, even if the paranoid looks Lily kept sending us were highly amusing.

"This seat taken?" I opened my eyes to see James in front of me gesturing toward Julianna's usual spot across from me.

"No." I said reluctantly. I really was enjoying the peace, but I guess it couldn't last forever, especially with the people I hang around.

"He won't let it go." James said after a minute.

"Who won't let what go?" I asked, although I had a suspicious feeling I already knew.

"Sirius won't let whatever's going on with Professor Quirke go. He's still trying to figure out without making you angry." He said.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Yes really." He answered.

We were then silent for a bit of time.

"I think he really does care about you, you know." James said, again breaking the silence.

"Who? Quirke?" I asked, although I did know who he was talking about this time. James didn't seem to be laughing.

"No, Sirius." He said.

Although I had already known the answer, I couldn't help but feel surprised. I looked from the fire up to James's face.

"You're not kidding." Was all I could say. Merlin, I was an idiot.

"I'm not. I may not be sure in what way or how much, but he really does care about you. It just seems to me that the feeling isn't mutual for you, considering you won't tell him something that seems to be playing a big part in your life." He was quiet for a few moments, letting me take in all that he just said.

_**A/N: Hey guys! I know you it's been a long time, and I have my reasons, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear my excuses. Just know that I am super sorry.**_

_** Oh, I have composed a list of OCs on my profile, so be sure to go check that out!**_

_** And remember Jakub, he could be very important in later chapters. If only I knew how… ;)**_

_** Woohoo! We've reached over 1,000 hits! Remember to REVIEW guys, it really helps me a lot, and not just with my self-esteem.**_

_** AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW! You guys who review are super awesome, including:**_

_** PheonixTail: Aw I'm glad you like it! I'm sorry it's been so long :/**_

_** X: I love the name Aleksandra, so I just had to use it for this story! **_

_**Well, I suppose that's it. Thanks to everyone who was read, reviewed, alerted, and favourited! You guys are AMAZING!**_


	6. Planning DESTRUCTION

**Chapter 6: Starting DESTRUCTION**

It's Saturday morning. And I really didn't want to get up, especially since I had decided to actually act couple-y with Sirius last night. I was going to prolong getting out of bed for as long as possible.

"ALEKS! TIME TO GET UP, DOLLFACE!"

At least, I would prolong it as long as I could ignore Marie and Julianna's screaming in my ear.

"Aleks! Even Lily's up now! It's already ten-thirty! I WANT TO EAT!" That was most definitely Marie standing next to me, making Julianna the one who had just taken to jumping on my bed.

"Julianna, if you don't stop that, I'm going to make you fall off and break your head… and I won't let Marie take you to the Hospital Wing, either. I will stick you in the bath fully clothed and make it look like you had slipped and fell into the tub." I said from under my pillow in a muffled voice.

Immediately, Julianna jumped off my bed, landing on light feet.

"She's awake." She said satisfactorily. Well, I guess my death threats mean next to nothing to her then.

And, my dear friend was right. I was now fully awake and had no way of falling back asleep. I also happen to have this strange disease in which once I am awake, I can no longer stay in bed. It's called IHaveTheWorstFriendsEver-itis.

After bathing and such, I felt a lot better and ready to tackle the day ahead of me. But then I happened to remember that I was spending my day with Mr. Black (the nice one), while I was walking out the door.

"Aleks! Come back here now! I still have to do your hair! Sirius would be appalled at the state it is currently in!" I swear, sometimes my friends remind me of things just for the satisfaction of knowing I have died a little on the inside.

"Yeah, it's not like he doesn't already know I don't give a hippogriff's behind about what my hair looks like!"

*** PAGE BREAK ***

I finally made it down to the Great Hall for lunch at noon, by which time I was absolutely starving. You can bet your niffler's treasures I dug right into that salad that was set before me as I sat down. I didn't even notice who had put the salad on my plate until five minutes later when I looked up and saw Sirius staring at me amusedly.

"When did you get here?" I asked through a mouthful of tomato.

"I've been here for the past twenty minutes." He said with a smile.

"Oh," was my intelligent response, and then I turned back to my salad and didn't stop eating until the plate before me was spotless. Then I decided to look up and met the infamous stormy grey eyes of Sirius Black. And these eyes were eyeing me with amusement, yet again.

"What're you starin' at?" I asked defensively as I ever-so-sneakily looked down to check that I hadn't gotten any food on my clothes.

"You." He stated simply. I shrugged and stood up from my seat, reaching my hand out to him. We walked out of the Great Hall hand in hand, heading for the oak front doors and out onto the grounds.

"Have you finished that paper for Quirke yet?" I asked as we headed toward the beech tree by the Black Lake.

"Yeah, I finished it in the library last night," Sirius answered as we sat down, "Did you?"

"Yes, but I was kind of confused as to how exactly the Dementors can live off of a non-substance such as happiness. But James helped me, so I think I've got it now."

"You spoke with James last night?"

"Yep, just for a bit. He wanted to tell me something and then he helped me finish up my essay."

"Oh."

We sat there in silence for a while, sitting next to each other, separated a few inches with our intertwined hands resting in the grass between us. And then I did something I never thought I'd do. I sighed and then leaned against Sirius, resting my head on his shoulder. We probably looked like the picture perfect couple.

If Sirius was at all surprised by this, he did not express his surprise.

"Sirius…"

"Mmm?"

"I've been thinking about this, and I know it's been bothering you that I never really answered your questions about Quirke the other day," I said quickly, nervously, "And you should know, he's my cousin."

Silence. Sirius didn't say anything. I shifted my head to look at him. His face was emotionless.

"And, well, my family doesn't exactly approve of your family, as you probably know, considering I've never seen you at any party I've gone to."

"Yes, our families don't get along very well, do they? Never seen around each other, forbidden to so much as look at each other…" he said in a voice that had an emotion in it that I couldn't quite place.

"Yeah, you see, my family kind of prefers the Connors family, that's why Erik's always chasing after me, you see,"

"Yes, I see, so Quirke just doesn't like me? That's it?" he asked.

"Yes…" I replied, not sure where this was going.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked up to see Sirius smiling mischievously out across the lake.

"What do you think about a collaborative prank, sweets?"

*** PAGE BREAK ***

Normally, the girls and I prank Lily. It is very seldom that we prank anyone else. The only times we ever stray off our beaten path is when we have the perfect opportunity and have a fool proof way to blame the Marauders for it… so mainly Slytherins. But never have we ever pranked a professor, especially not one that I am related to. Mainly because, contrary to popular belief (or so James tells us), we are not stupid.

However, it seems the Marauders have done this before. I am truly surprised that I have not been informed of this, especially since, for some reason, my dear cousin believes that I have control over the Marauders just because I am in the same House and year as them. He always complains about everything they do to me, thinking I can stop it, and then wonders why I can't. Well, it's not that I can't… I'm just not willing to ever try. In case you have yet to notice, I am not exactly fond of Cousin Daniel.

So right now, I am heading down to Daniel's office, like I have done every Saturday evening since I started attending Hogwarts. It may seem like I just like to be with my family to an outsider, but really he just likes to check that I am not "hanging with the wrong crowd" as he puts it.

I walk into his office without knocking at exactly seven o'clock, as usual. I smell the scent of apple cinnamon (he has a weird obsession with apple pie), as usual. And I walk in to find the office empty, which is definitely not usual. Why is it that the one night it is convenient that I talk to him, he's not even here? Seriously, this is not funny.

So I just sat down in the usual chair opposite Daniel's chair and waited. For twenty minutes.

"What are you doing in here?" I turned to see my cousin standing in the doorway of his office, staring at me with narrowed eyes.

"It's Saturday, isn't it?" I asked, glancing at the calendar he always kept on his desk.

"Yes, it is, but I do not wish to have a traitor to the family in this room."

"Oh, is this about Sirius?" I asked laughingly, "He and I are long over. I just needed him to pull this one prank on Lily, you should have seen it. It was absolutely unbelievable, you would have been so proud."

"Oh," Daniel said, and I could see from the look on his face that he had forgiven me. My cousin is just so gullible sometimes. "Why did you have to use him, then?" He asked as he walked around me and his desk to relax in his chair.

"Oh, I needed a Marauder's opinion on the ingredients and spells I should use, and his condition to help me was to be his girlfriend for a week. He must have thought I would have fallen for him by then or something." I laughed, rolling my eyes seemingly at the ridiculousness of Sirius's "plan."

"Why did you have to use that particular Marauder?" Daniel seemed to become a bit angry again. I sighed.

"Because James is too hung up on Lily to ever agree to harm her in any way, I would feel bad about tricking someone as gullible as Peter into asking one of his slightly smarter friends and therefore betraying James to his Lily, and Remus is too smart to get on James's bad side. Sirius was perfect for the job, seeing as he was the one who normally came up with their more bizarre expeditions and he didn't care about getting on James's bad side because James can never stay mad at him for too long." I said all of this as if it were completely obvious just to irritate him.

"Why are you calling all of them by their first names?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"Habit." I shrugged.

"Well then… I suppose you can go back to your Common Room. It's almost eight and I am pretty sure I assigned you an essay that you most likely have not finished." He said, his tone turning teasing.

"No, I don't think I remember that one. Was it about Dementors and how Patronuses repel them?" I asked jokingly, and he nodded, "Nope, I don't think you assigned it." I said as I skipped out of the room.

Daniel smiled and walked to the door after me, "Just kidding," I called as I walked down the corridor, "I finished it yesterday."

Turning the corner, I nearly ran into my girls and the Marauders.

"Step one complete." James said.

"Now it's time for the hard part," Marie added.

*** PAGE BREAK ***

"I think you girls should have a title," James said as we all sat together under the beech tree the next day, "You know, like we're the Marauders," he added, gesturing to himself, Peter, Remus, and Sirius.

"I think 'The Amazing and Wonderful Sixth Year Girls of Gryffindor' is a good enough title for us." Julianna replied from where she lay on her back in the sun with her eyes closed.

Remus snorted and looked up from the Transfiguration book he was reading on one of the lower branches of the tree, "And who exactly calls you 'The Amazing and Most Wonderful Sixth Year Girls of Gryffindor?'"

"You, just now," Marie said from the lake where she was dangling her bare feet in the water.

"Oh ha ha, very funny," Peter answered from next to James where they both leaned on the trunk of the beech, but I think his laugh was only partly fake.

"I, for one, am rather fond of the name Maraudettes," Sirius stated from where he sat beside me in the sun writing the conclusion to his Herbology essay. I was leaning against him with my head resting on his shoulder, picking at the grass and braiding some of it together.

"But what will we be called after I dump you?" I asked innocently, teasingly. By now the fact that we had gotten together by mere coincidence was nearly forgotten, so this question was merely a joke, like the kind I would ask a real boyfriend just to see what he says.

As if to prove this, Sirius just laughed and continued writing about Venomous Tentacula in his neat script.

"Why do you say we need a name, James?" Julianna asked.

"Because I am tired of referring to you as 'the girls' in my head all the time." He answered.

"I don't know, I think 'the girls' has a pretty nice ring to it." I said.

"The Girls it is, then," Remus said, but I think it was more because he wanted to continue studying and less because he liked the name.

"I like it." Marie, Julianna, and I all said at the same time.

"Fine," James said sulkily, "But only until we find a better one for you."

**A/N: Uhmmmmm… sooooo…. Hey. **

**I'm super sorry for not updating sooner, but I highly doubt you would like to read my long list of sorry excuses so I'll just skip that part.**

**So anyone got a good name for the girls? I have some in mind, but if there's a good suggestion out there, then I'll most definitely use it with credit to you.**

**Oh, and another contest/thingy! I need a whole lot of OCs, so if you have any ideas for someone, send them in. I need them from all houses and years, so it would be a great help from anyone that sent in a suggestion!**

**NOW ON TO THOSE AMAZING PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED!**

**BellaLestrangex01: Thanks so much! I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long!**

**Bonnie McCullough: Thanks for reviewing! And did I really make the relationship between Aleks and Quirke that obvious or are you just really awesome like that?**

**PhoenixTail7: I'm so glad you like this! I'll try to update way sooner from now on, especially since my writer's block has left me! Thanks so much for staying with the story so far!**

**Comfortably Grey: Thanks so much for reviewing! I'll make sure to make the updates way faster than I have been.**

**Miridea: Sorry for not updating haha. I'll make sure to get better. And I'm really happy to know that some people besides me enjoy my story haha **


	7. Lots of Fluff

**Chapter 7: **

It has been exactly one week, two days, 32 minutes, and 43 seconds since the moment I walked into the Marauders' compartment. And it feels like a lifetime.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the guys are great. The food is good, the castle is magical, and most of my professors either love me or pretend to hate me to hide the fact that they think I'm hilarious.

Most.

_To My Dearest Cousin, Daniel, _I wrote on the front of the envelope, _Love, Aleksandra Alison Crystal Genevieve Jacalynn Sarah Giggel._

This plan had better work, I thought to myself, because if it doesn't, I lose my family. And that seems to be the one thing that is somewhat sane in my life.

Funny, I could have sworn I just said my family was sane.

Huh.

Well, Mother isn't so bad, I suppose. She's very kind and has a sweet smile. I get most of my looks from her. The only thing I find wrong with her is that she actually goes along with Father's ideas of so-called pureblood supremacy and all that rubbish. I even heard from Daniel that my father is looking to rise in the ranks of Death Eaters! I mean, who does he think he's kidding, getting in with stupid middle-aged nut-jobs like that?

It's simply unintelligent, to be truthful. But he must be serious about it, considering he's already disinherited Emily.

Ah, Emily. I miss that weirdo. It seems weird to miss a sister I used to fight with all the time, but now the house seems empty without her laughter and teasing comments. Now I think I'd give anything to see my 22-year-old sibling. But Father forbade me, ever since Emily finally spoke out against blood prejudice.

But now the sentimental feelings are getting to me. I haven't cried since the night Emily left all those years ago, and I don't plan on revisiting that experience again. It's quite horrible, crying like a leaky cauldron for something that had been your worst nightmare. Emily used to tell me everything, including her ideas on blood prejudice. She even instilled in me the hatred she felt when she heard our Father speaking of muggles as if they were dirt, even if I always acted bored during her rants.

I got my ability to rant from her.

But I do wonder, sometimes, what she is doing at this moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked, breaking me away from my thoughts. We were sitting on the sofa in front of the fire after a rather long Tuesday.

"Emily," I said without thinking. I really have to stop doing that.

"Who's Emily?" Sirius questioned, either not seeing or choosing to ignore the fact that I was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"…My sister." I said, hardly even a whisper. No one's supposed to know, after all.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Sirius said with raised eyebrows, in a normal voice.

"Shh!" I said, pouncing on him and covering his mouth with my hand, "Tell the whole world, why don't ya?"

"What's wrong with having a sister?" He asked. Well, I'm assuming that's what he said, because my hand was still covering his mouth and it sounded more like, "Whawongwidhamingsista?"

"Nothing, never mind. Let's go to the Owlery to deliver this letter before curfew, shall we?" Good thing that was the plan anyway, otherwise he would have kept at it.

We exited through the portrait hole into the dim and nearly-silent Hogwarts Castle. It was quite peaceful, truth be told. But, and I know this may come as a surprise to you, I happen to be more comfortable in a loud and noisy area. Peace is barely even in my vocabulary.

Luckily, Sirius decided to break the silence that had decided to move in between us. He grabbed my hand and said, "So what's wrong with having a sister?"

Okay, maybe it wasn't so lucky that he decided to break the silence. Silence isn't meant to be broken. Right now I prefer it as a whole.

"Nothing, I would love to have a sister." I hoped the message would get across to him from that sentence. I couldn't take a chance that someone who knew my family heard me talking about her.

"But I thought you just said… oh." I had sent Sirius a glance full of meaning, and I guess he's getting better at reading my expressions because he shut up again.

He seemed to be thinking a bit after that, and I left him to it.

***PAGE BREAK***

After tying my letter to my owl, Canis, and sending him off to Daniel, Sirius and I walked back down the stairs to the corridor that would lead back to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius turned us around and steered me down toward the opposite end of the corridor. Oh dear, what does the boy have planned now?

"Did you know that the star Sirius is found in the constellation Canis Major?" Sirius asked.

"Mmm yes I did. I took Astronomy, too, you know, and I received top marks up until the OWLs." I answered, which was quite true. I would have gotten an O on the OWL had I actually turned up to the exam.

"So, tell me, were you thinking of me when you named your owl?" He asked playfully.

"Oh, definitely," I replied sarcastically, "You were the only thing I could ever think about when I was nine years old. It has nothing to do with the fact that we had received the owl as a gift from your family forever ago. "

"Did you really?" He actually sounded surprised.

"Oh yes, didn't you know? Your family was trying to get on good terms with us and gave my family your best owl. Father didn't want it, but I had already come to love him, so he said I could keep Canis as long as he stayed in my room and no one else saw him."

"I had no idea. Maybe that's why you seemed familiar when we met in First Year." He answered.

"Yeah, you coming up to me and asking my name had nothing to do with the fact that Remus had a crush on me in First Year." I quipped.

"You knew about that?" He sounded stunned.

"I'm not an idiot. I am one of The Girls, after all."

"And My Girl." Sirius said.

"Yeah… I guess I am," now it was getting too serious for me. I needed light conversation, it's how I am, "So where are you taking me?"

His eyes lit up as I said this, but I'm not sure if it was because I had agreed or because he was excited to take me to wherever we were going. He didn't say anything, though, just stayed silent.

After a bit more walking, including down the same corridor three times, we came to a door. Sirius opened the door for me, saying, "After you."

It was beautiful. The room was quite small, decorated in all sorts of greens. There were plants everywhere and a huge roaring fireplace with some chairs and sofas in front of it. There was also a large French door that opened to a balcony, through which I could see the night sky. The ceiling above looked exactly like the one in the Great Hall.

"What is this place?" I asked in a slightly awed voice, after sensing that Sirius had stepped up behind me.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It turns into anything you want; just have to go past that patch of wall three times, thinking about what you want it to turn into. I wanted somewhere for us to talk. I know something's going on in that pretty little head of yours, and I think you might want to get it off your chest. And yes, this room is soundproof."

I looked around the room, and then headed to the most comfortable looking sofa, knowing Sirius would follow.

"I miss her." I said after we were sitting there for a while. It was hard for me to say it.

"Your sister?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, I do. We were so close. And now I can never see her anymore. I haven't seen her for five years."

"Why haven't you seen her?" He asked. I had a feeling he knew, after all he was pretty smart… just don't tell him I said that.

"My dad disinherited her. Over Christmas Break when she was sixteen, Father took Emily to teach her about muggles with the other Death Eaters," I heard Sirius take in a breath. Death Eaters are bad. Not even his family were Death Eaters, and his family was about as bad as it gets, "Yeah, I know. I live in a family of Death Eaters. I was born into a family that expects me to kill for fun. And I almost believed in it, too.

"That is, until Emily came back from their little excursion. She was as white as a ghost, shaking from head to toe. I asked her what was wrong. And you know what she said?"

Sirius stayed silent, and I took this as a sign to go on.

"She pulled me to the side for the few minutes that Father wouldn't be there. And then sh-she said, 'Aleks, I'm leaving. Dad- he's evil, Al. Don't fall into all that blood prejudice stuff. Don't turn out like that.' And then she pushed me toward the stairs, telling me to go to my room. That was the last time I ever saw my big sister. I can barely even remember her smile, she was always so gloomy the last few months she lived with us. I never did find out what actually went on with the Death Eaters, but I can guess."

It was silent for a good five minutes. Sirius was staring into the fire with a blank face, and I was staring at him waiting for a reaction of some sort. Then I realized that there were droplets of water on my cheeks. I swiftly wiped them off before Sirius could see. But of course he noticed my movement.

And then he did the strangest thing. He pulled me into a hug. And I did something even stranger.

I didn't pull away.

It was the first time in years I had shown feelings other than happiness and amusement and anger. It was the first time I had accepted a hug from someone since my second year at Hogwarts. It was the first time I had ever let anyone get close to me besides Julianna and Marie.

And, the weird thing was, I liked it.

**A/N: Hey guys I'm sorry it's been so long.**

**To tell the truth, I was giving up on this story. But my author's note that I was going to put up to inform you all of this wouldn't upload, and I took that as a sign. So here we are.**

**Remember to review! I'd love to hear your opinions on so much seriousness! It's weird for me, I know.**


	8. QUIDDITCH!

**Chapter 8: QUIDDITCH!**

_Dearest Aleksandra,_

_ I would be delighted to join you in Hogsmeade for lunch at one o'clock. Meet me at the very end of the main road so I can lead you to the restaurant. I daresay you've never bothered going to this one. I will be inviting a couple other guests to join us._

_ Daniel._

The letter had come down with the cloud of owls, carried by Canis. I read it swiftly, nervously, and then searched for my cousin at the High Table.

"Who's that from, then?" Marie asked from her seat across from me.

"Daniel."

I caught the attention of the cousin in question and nodded because, contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy speaking to him outside of class and Saturday evenings. His expression turned from bored to joyful in a matter of seconds, grin spreading wide and his bright blue eyes, the only similarity between us, brightened.

"What for?" Julianna asked curiously, looking up from her beloved pancakes that she had been giving her full attention to just moments before.

"Oh, just planning." I said with a wink. My girls nodded before Julianna again stared lovingly at her pancakes (which is extremely off-putting by the way, but to each her own, I suppose.) and Marie began to devour her cold cereal.

I, being able to eat my waffles and participate in conversation at the same time, turned my attention to do just that and began to pick up on what the Marauders were talking about.

"I dunno, Wormtail, I don't think I need to hold a full try-out," James was saying, "All we need is the one Chaser."

"But Prongs, you need to be fair and let everyone try out," Remus said, "Who knows, maybe someone in our House has a hidden talent for Keeping or something."

"Not Keeping-" Julianna began, and I looked at her, wide-eyed, although, to be fair, she could have taken that as disgust in her eating habits rather than a warning to stop saying anything (I was raised with many etiquette classes, being a pureblood).

"-Beating, actually," Marie finished, as Julianna was preoccupied by the abnormally large bite of pancake she was trying to chew without looking too disgusting. Well, a point for chewing with her mouth closed.

"You two are Beaters?" Sirius asked, current Beater of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Oh Merlin no, not unless you want the entire team in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the year," Marie said, as Julianna was chugging a glass of orange juice to keep from choking, "Aleks is a Beater, aren't you, Aleks?

"What? Pshhhhhhhh no, who are you trying to kid, Marie? Me, Beater, ha." I said, joining Jules in chugging my beverage. Unfortunately for me, this beverage was not orange juice and, in fact, happened to be some very hot coffee.

As I was choking, Marie and Julianna, who had apparently resurfaced from her own near-death experience, filled the Marauders in on exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"Yeah, she's been playing since she could ride a broom," Marie said.

"Secretly, of course," Julianna added.

"Her parents were never ones to allow their daughter do such things that were originally deemed appropriate for boys only."

"Especially a position like Beater,"

"But she's pretty good, from what I hear,"

"Which isn't much, mind you, because we've only met her local team once and that was an utter disaster,"

"Apparently, Quidditch players don't appreciate it when you curse bludgers to fly away from the Beaters' bats and instead toward their own Chasers seconds before contact." Marie concluded, smiling at the memory.

"Oh, was that the bell?" I asked everyone while standing up, still a bit red in the face because I nearly died. I couldn't help but notice that no one bothered to help me, not even my so-called 'boyfriend.' That can quickly be changed, my friend, just keep ignoring my desperate pleas for air and see what happens. Oh, I'm ranting again. Anyway…

"No, I don't think it was…" Peter answered.

"Sure it was, let's go," everyone looked at me like I was mad. Well, to be fair, I sometimes wonder the same thing. "Besides, I forgot my bag in the Common Room yet again. Sirius, would you be ever so kind as to join me?"

I proceeded to walk out of the Great Hall with a bit of a skip threatening to break through into my step, which I have no idea why because I wasn't exactly ecstatic at the moment, and waited for my boyfriend to join me at the bottom of the marble staircase.

"How come you never told me you were a Beater?" Sirius asked as he waltzed out of the doors with a stack of toast in hand.

"What, no 'Hey sweetie, do you want some toast?'" I asked in return as he neared me, taking a piece from the top. It was slightly burnt and perfectly buttered, my favourite.

"Not when I already know that you're going to take some toast either way," Sirius replied.

"You've got a point there, Mister Black." I answered. A good fraction of the rest of our walk to Gryffindor Tower was silence after this.

"So, you're a Beater… What else don't I know about you?"

"Quite a bit, I'd wager. We haven't spoken much before." I answered his question.

"Well, it is officially my goal to get to know everything about you." Sirius said with a huge grin as we stepped into the Common Room and I grabbed my bag from my armchair. I peered inside the half-zipped messenger bag to see that everything remained as it had been. Good, I wasn't in the mood to go chasing around a bunch of third-years who think they're cool just for a book that is most definitely not cool.

"Mmm, good luck with that. I'm not all that exciting." I told him.

"Of course you are!" Sirius said, "Why do you think I'm still going along with your whole I-need-a-boyfriend-who-will-scare-Connors-away-from-me-because-I-fear-for-my-life-every-time-he-comes-near-me plan?"

"You've got a point, I suppose," I said as we rounded the corner that led to my Ancient Runes classroom, just because I was not in the mood to argue with either his overall point or the name for my most brilliant plan.

"See you after class," Sirius said, that grin still on his face, as he pecked my cheek and made a mad dash to his own class, Muggle Studies.

***PAGE BREAK***

"Hey, Aleksandra, come sit with me." Erik said as I passed his seat to my usual one.

"In your dreams, Connors," I replied, not even bothering to look at him.

"I can assure you that you are." Erik said with a wink. I stopped dead in my tracks and almost started screaming at him right there in the middle of the classroom, but then I decided that all he wanted was to get me angry. Besides, I try to avoid detention as much as possible, even if I am definitely no stranger to getting in trouble.

Instead of causing a ruckus (ha. Ruckus.), I calmly marched to my seat between Julianna and Marie and took out all of the required materials. Erik looked back and winked at me. Again. This was going to be a long class.

***PAGE BREAK***

After classes, I set off for the Quidditch pitch in my brand new scarlet and gold Quidditch robes that my local teammates had gotten me for my birthday, ready to feel the free feeling of flying on my Skydiver 320 again after so long.

Some of you young hoodlums who are reading this might be assuming that I am headed on my way to Gryffindor Quidditch Team try-outs. Wrong. I most certainly am not trying out for the team, no matter how much I would absolutely love to.

And now, I do believe it is time to make a lovely list.

**Reasons for Me, Aleksandra Alison Crystal Genevieve Jacalynn Sarah Giggel, Not to Try Out For the Gryffindor Quidditch Team:**

_If I made the team, and who are we kidding, I totally would, Daniel would be informed of this and look down upon me as not as cool as I was when I wasn't a Quidditch player. And, let's face it; Daniel is the most sufferable out of my entire family, so I need him to keep me sane at family gatherings._

_If Daniel knew of my place on the team, then so would my parents, and I would face the possibility of being disowned, although I doubt my parents would be that harsh. They may be pureblood supremacists, but they are of the somewhat-sane variety._

_Had I made the team, I would become what is known as "popular," exactly what I have tried to avoid ever since I was a toddler. Going out with Sirius Black has already gotten me noticed, I do not need to add the fact that I am bloody amazing at Quidditch to get even more people to notice my existence. The Girls are known (to ourselves, at least) for being kept quiet and acting like normal-although-a-bit-more-than-slightly-insane students. So I simply could not draw attention to myself for the sake of our pranking behaviour._

_Erik is on the Slytherin Quidditch Team. The Captain, in fact. So I would not only have to deal with his attempts to "win me over," but also his Quidditch trash talk, which I have heard much about. I don't think I would be able to bear hearing him insult me or my teammates without hexing him, and then my parents would be appalled that I would treat such a nice young man in such a way because with my luck, I would actually lose it in front of a large crowd, and word would get to Daniel. I may fight with Erik a lot, but it's usually in a deserted corridor somewhere and he has too much pride to actually tattle on me after I hurt him._

_This last point may just be the most pathetic and girly point, but I need at least five arguments to use when Julianna and Marie get it in their heads that they need to convince me to be on the team, as it is a good opportunity to "expand my horizons" or some other such rubbish. But back to the point. If and when Sirius and I break up, I'll either have to see him with the team all the time or resign and look like a sissy for not being able to face him._

_And, besides, having my local team over the summer is more than enough._

So you must be wondering just what I am doing. Would you believe me if I told you that I am simply going for a ride around the pitch? That is exactly what I was going down there to do.

I timed going down to the pitch for exactly one and one half hours after Gryffindor try-outs started, figuring that that is when most try-outs end. However, on nearing the pitch, I realized that it was quite full of people.

Correction: try-outs would take about one and one half hours to complete if you did not have a Nazi Captain looking for perfection, who also goes by the name of James Potter. I should have known. Nothing good comes out of a person whose first name ends in an "s." It's just a fact of life.

I decided that instead of turning around and walking all the way back to the castle I would just sneak up to sit in the stands until everyone else had gone.

Of course, as many things outside of pranks tend to do, this did not go according to plan.

"Oi! Giggel, try-outs started over an hour ago! I mean, according to what I've heard, I should make an exception for you to try out, but being this late is not acceptable." I looked up to see James about twenty meters away, talking to Jakub Scarnett.

"Calm yourself, James," I called back to the Nazi Captain, "I'm not even here to try out for the team!"

"Oh…" James looked around and finally spotted Sirius watching over the practicing Beaters, "Oi! Padfoot! Aleks is down here!" James then turned to me, "And that's Sir Captain Potter to you, Giggel."

"Yes, Sir Nazi Captain," I replied, still making my way toward the stands, giving him a mock salute. James turned fully toward me so that no one else could see him sticking his tongue out at me in what I'm sure was a very mature and manly sign of affection.

"Black! Come occupy your girlfriend before she causes any trouble!" James shouted jokingly at Sirius after turning around and realizing his best friend had still not come down to see me.

Sirius turned around to see me halfway up the stairs that led to the bleachers and I waved to him. Wow, he can really pull off those Quidditch robes, I remember thinking as he flew over to sit next to me on the very top bench, my usual spot for when I was able to attend Quidditch games.

"Hey, sweets, aren't you going to try out for the other Beater position? The ones we have trying out for us right now are downright horrible."

"No," I said, settling into my seat as he wrapped an arm around me.

"Then why are you wearing your Quidditch robes?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, I was hoping try-outs would be over by now so I could fly a bit." I answered.

"Did you know you could actually wear normal clothes if all you're doing is flying?" My boyfriend said jokingly, referring to my brand-new Quidditch robes. Hmm, even after nearly two weeks with him, it felt strange calling Sirius my boyfriend.

"Actually, you know, I think I may have heard that somewhere. But where's the fun in that? Besides, these robes are new, a present from my local team for my birthday." I responded, rather proud of the gold and scarlet robes that my friends had contributed to getting for me.

"When is your birthday?" Sirius asked me.

"Okay, only a slightly random question… August twenty-eighth. When's yours?" I asked in return.

"September fifteenth." Sirius replied, grinning.

"What?" I asked, "But, that- that's tomorrow! You're joking. You didn't even tell your girlfriend when your birthday was until the day before," I muttered, "You're insufferable." I concluded.

"So I've been told. But you've nowhere near as bad as me! I just missed your birthday! How sad is that?"

"It's alright, not like I would expect anything anyway. Mother and Father normally give me several pretty and formal dresses plus a load of other frivolous gifts while Julianna and Marie just send me a card. I prefer it that way, actually. But how in the world am I supposed to find a present for you in less than twenty-four hours?"

On the outside, I must have seemed cool, as I always am, but on the inside, my mind was panicking, trying to think of an easy gift to get him. As I tend to do, I composed a list in my head as my mind struggled to think of anything productive:

Scrapbook of fun times together/pictures: Great idea, if only we had been together for more than two weeks.

Zonko's products and Honeyduke's sweets: A great idea, but I hadn't the time to go and fetch these items from Hogsmeade tonight; Marie, Julianna and I had been planning a girls' night since Tuesday, seeing as we were spending way too much time with the Marauders.

Show him the way through secret passages or to the Kitchens: This would be great, if we hadn't learned all of them from him when we stalked him during our fourth year for a prank we were plan-

"You what?" Sirius asked in an incredulous tone.

"Oh, was I saying all that aloud? How embarrassing," I said, although I wasn't embarrassed in the least.

"You stalked me in fourth year?" Sirius asked, ignoring my comments. How rude.

"Well, didn't most of the fourth year female population?"

"Not so they could plan a prank! Was that the one with the glitter and all that disgusting smelling perfume?" he asked.

"Oh, so you remember!" I exclaimed, "How sweet."

Sirius just shook his head and looked to the Quidditch pitch, which was being emptied as we spoke.

"Oh, Sirius, weren't you supposed to be trying out?" I asked as he stood to join the students heading to the locker rooms.

"Beaters' try-outs were at the beginning. You're lucky you came when you did, Miss Giggel, or I would have been forced to ignore you and would not have learned your birthday or that you used to stalk me like a normal girl would."

"Don't you go calling me a normal girl, Black," I called to him as he made his way around students and down the stairs.

"Yes, Merlin forbid you were actually sane!" Sirius yelled back up.

I grinned, and waited for the pitch to clear out around me. It didn't take long.

"Finally," I said to the clouds overhead as I jumped on my broomstick and started with a few warm-up laps around the field. After I felt stretched enough and everything, I made my way over to the broom shed and brought out a case which contained the bludgers. I let one out and grabbed the Beaters' bat I always left in a dark corner of the fairly small shed, hidden behind a bunch of old brooms.

I hopped on my broom again and, after kicking off, chased after the bludgers, imagining Slytherin Chasers and opposing Beaters surrounding me. I took aim and, one after another, the figures in my mind's eye disappeared. I then tried to see how far the bludgers would go without veering off course after I hit it. I managed to get it to go as far as a little under half the pitch.

That's when I heard clapping below me and turned, startled to see James watching me from in front of the locker room doors, Sirius a few steps behind him.

"Wow, Aleks, you have an amazing swing, and the bludgers went so far without so much as a spin," James said, looking in awe of me as I flew down to land in front of him.

"I agree with James," Sirius said, looking at me with a mock-accusatory smile, "Even if I thought you were just going to fly around. Although I must say you were fairly quick when you were taking those laps."

"Oh, that was nothing," I said, feeling uncomfortable with being acknowledged for my accomplishments. It was slightly unusual for me.

"If that was nothing, then I want to see you play when you're actually working at it," James said, "Please tell me you'll join the team. You're amazing and none of the others who tried out were nearly as good as you."

I blushed at the compliment, but sighed, "Sorry, James, I've already told you I won't join."

"But… Why?" James then turned to Sirius, "She's kidding me, right? Did you see how amazing she is?"

"Well, what more do expect from my girlfriend?" Sirius answered, smirking. I had to stifle a laugh, but I couldn't hide the blush that was taking over my face.

"I have my reasons, James. I think I'm going to go for a walk before dinner though. I'll see you then, yeah?"

**A/N: Annnnnnnnnd SCENE. Hey guys, I know it's been a really long time, but I have my reasons. Namely the fact that I GOT TO GO TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER! It was so awesome; I think I can officially die happy now. Haha but anyway, thank you all for your support and reading my story. Please remember to review!**


	9. Lots of Ruckus

**Chapter 9: Lots of Ruckus**

"What's with all this ruckus?" I asked on Sunday morning, coming up behind Remus in the Common Room, who was standing at the back of a rather large crowd in front of the notice board. Then I burst out laughing at my diction. Ha. Ruckus.

Remus looked at me like I had finally lost it (which, by the way, I had done a very long time ago) while Sirius bounded down the stairs, clearly in a good mood about something.

"What's she laughing about?" Sirius asked as he came up to Remus and me.

"No idea." Remus replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, well in that case," Sirius said, looking at the crowd that was slowly beginning to thin out, "What's with all this ruckus?" But this just made me laugh harder, falling to the floor. Now it was not only Remus, but Sirius and a few others who were looking at me like I had finally gone crazy. Great; even my own boyfriend didn't know I was already completely insane.

That is when dear Julianna made an entrance, skipping down the stairs like a little birdy or something. She spotted the three of us and made her way over to join our lovely conversation.

"What's Aleks laughing about this time?" she asked after noticing that I was on the floor laughing my head off.

"No idea." Remus and Sirius said at the same time. It's kind of weird, the way the Marauders can do that. I wish The Girls could do that, too.

"Well, what was the last thing you guys said before she began to laugh hysterically?" My friend asked.

"Uh… I said 'What's with all this ruckus?'" Sirius said.

"Oh," Julianna started giggling uncontrollably, "That explains it. It has been decided by Marie, Aleks and myself that 'ruckus' is one of the funniest words in the English language that could be used in everyday conversation." She then burst out laughing and proceeded to join me on the thick carpet. Ruckus. Ha.

That is the point where Marie came down to join us after the Common Room had cleared up a bit more (probably due to some maniacal laughter coming from some weird girls.. heh..). She came over to where Julianna and I were rolling on the floor and looked to Sirius smirking above us and Remus slowly edging away, probably wondering why he doesn't just get new friends.

Sirius looked up when she got to us.

"Ruckus."

And down she went.

Remus shook his head, and I have to agree with him. We are rather poor choices in friends.

We were finally stepping down from laughing our butts off to giggling uncontrollably with a few hiccups mixed in when Lily and Co. decide it was time to walk down the stairs to breakfast. She saw us on the floor and rolled her eyes.

I sobered up almost immediately, with Marie and Julianna quickly following suit next to me after they realized why I was suddenly quiet.

"At least we can have fun and loosen up!" I told her, and in all that comment's lame glory, lying on the floor while saying it just added to the lameness.

So, of course, I tried to stand up, stumbling all the way, trying to make up for at least a fraction of the lameocity that had recently surfaced. I also failed miserably, if you had not already guessed.

"Aleks, let it go," Sirius's laughing voice said to me, and I couldn't help but laugh with him as I turned around to see him.

"Oh! Sirius, happy birthday!" I said after making a sudden realization, and his grin got even wider and brighter, if that were even possible, "But I still don't have a present for you, considering you only told me yesterday."

"Well, thank you anyway, I suppose," Sirius said in what was supposed to be a slightly sad voice, but it lost its touch, considering he was still smiling. Quite suddenly, I wanted to pull him into a hug. So I did.

"Oh, will you ever forgive me, dear Sirius?" I asked jokingly, referring to the fact that I didn't get him a present even though he had only just let me know about his date of birth the night before when I had planned a girls' night.

"I don't know, Aleks, I really am rather disappointed in you. I would have thought you had a bit more creativity," Sirius said after I stepped away from him to finally see the Notice Board.

"Hogsmeade weekend in two weeks!" I quite nearly squealed. I love Hogsmeade weekends, even if I sometimes have to spend them in only semi-pleasant company. The little town is so nice to escape to sometimes.

I then proceeded to drag everyone downstairs to breakfast because I was absolutely ravenous.  
>Laughing is a real workout, really makes you want food.<p>

"Guys! Guess what?" I said loudly as I half-skipped-half-ran-half-stumbled through the corridors and down all of the staircases.

"What, Aleks?" James asked. Apparently, my dear friend had shown up along with Peter before we left, but I really hadn't noticed.

"I'm really hungry, but I think breakfast is almost over. Let's go to the kitchens instead!" I slowed to a semi-normal walk so that I could speak clearly to everyone, "Oh please? Please, please, please? Pretty please with lots and lots of ice cream on top? Sirius, darling, we can even get you a cake! What kind of cake do you like? I was thinking white with white frosting, I don't like chocolate frosting and chocolate cake tastes weird with white frosting. And you really need to try my mint chocolate chip pancakes. I know it sounds gross, but they're actually really good! Alright, I'll admit I put too much mint in them last time, but I can put less this time! Or maybe cinnamon and vanilla? Or blueberry? Chocolate chip? Banana? Peanut butter? Strawberry? Apple and cinnamon? I can have a house elf make a sausage and I'll wrap it in a pancake! Can you tell I only know how to make pancakes? The elves won't let me touch anything but their premade mix and they help me with coming up with the combinations, but I do the rest basically by myself. How about some eggs from the elves; they're all so sweet, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I could also go for some of Mousy's chocolate, too, what about you?"

I looked around at my friends. Marie and Julianna looked normal, Sirius was looking at me fondly, Remus looked like he was trying to find a way to excuse himself from my insanity without being rude, and James was freely staring at me open-mouthed while Peter whispered to him, "What's wrong with her?"

Marie decided to answer Peter's question, "Way too much chocolate last night. Totally thought she would have been hung-over from all of it rather than this, but oh well."

I nodded vigorously as confirmation, then skipped ahead as we travelled through all the old corridors that made up the interior of Hogwarts.

Once I reached the kitchen, several floors ahead of the rest of my friends, I screamed to all the beings currently in the kitchen, "HE'S COMING! HIDE!" I noticed a couple of Hufflepuff fourth years duck under a table upon hearing my shouts, but ignored them and hid behind the very stove that I always made my pancakes at. The House Elves scurried around frantically, eventually finding hiding places such as underneath the tables, under the rugs, behind the other stoves and inside the ovens (which I thought was a bit of a silly idea. Who wants roasted House Elf for lunch? Not me, I can assure you.).

Just as soon as every visible living creature had been somewhat-properly hidden, my friends walked in through the door.

"Aleks… Where are you, sweets?" Sirius called out into the seemingly empty kitchen. Marie walked around the equivalent of the Gryffindor table once, and then put up three fingers as soon as her back was turned to us.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIRIUS!" I chorused along with the House Elves and the frightened-looking Hufflepuffs, jumping out of my hiding place to run up and tackle him in a hug.

"What…? I thought you hadn't gotten me anything!" Sirius said, surprised. Well of course he was surprised. I planned it, hadn't I?

"I said I hadn't gotten you a present, silly. Not that I hadn't planned anything for your birthday!" I replied, dragging him over to the Gryffindor table with our friends following us. I noticed the Hufflepuffs were slowly making their way out of the kitchens and waved to them. "Thanks for coming!" I shouted as the door was closing behind them.

"What sweet kids Hufflepuffs are. They volunteered to hide when I came in here earlier. Really, they're very kind." I commented to no one in particular.

"I'm sure it wasn't because of a crazed-looking witch running into the kitchens and screaming at the top of her lungs." Julianna replied.

"Really? Who?" I asked, looking around the room. "Oh! Marie! I hadn't heard you screaming!" I said. For some reason, all of my friends rolled their eyes at the same time. It must be some weird Marauder-Girls telepathy thing. Why am I not included in on this? Oh, well.

Anyway, the sweet little house elves started gathering around us, having already made a whole bunch of my favorite pancake combinations. I was a bit put out, seeing as making the pancakes was my favorite part of breakfast in the kitchens, but decided it was alright this one time. I needed to spend time with my friends and, besides, I was not about to make all the different flavours of pancakes for all of my friends. That could take years!

But our little breakfast in the kitchens was phenomenal. In the end, the House Elves even surprised me when they brought out a mountain of pancakes made with extra sugar, sprinkles, and a bit of vanilla as a breakfast substitute for cake.

"Because miss is always so nice to Gilly when miss comes to the kitchens and miss was excited for mister Black's party that Gilly wanted to make a surprise." My favorite House Elf, Gilly said after I asked her why she had brought out such delicious treats. I must say, I like Gilly about as much as I like all the sweet little Elves at home, and that is saying something.

Sirius and I were only about halfway through our third helpings of pancakes when the rest of our friends had decided that they would go up to the trophy room and plan a little joke on Peeves, who we all had decided likes to bounce around in there a bit too much for our liking. I mean, it's our favourite hiding place; the best in all of the castle Merlin's sake! He should know better than to mess with us too much. Sirius and I decided to stay behind because we were still a bit hungry... Plus, we had already rigged a prank for when our friends walked in because we had planned to convince them to go to the trophy room anyway. They won't be smelling too great for the next few days.

"So, Aleks, there's that Hogsmeade trip next weekend, yeah?"

"Oh yes! I'm so excited for it!" I responded.

"Well, I was wondering, especially since we weren't able to properly celebrate each other's birthdays this year, if you would like to go with me?"

_ Oh_ _my_ _Merlin_. That is exactly what I was thinking after Sirius had asked me to go out with him for the first time after we had decided to try and work out our-plot-to-keep-Erik-from-harassing-me-slash-boyfriend-girlfriend-relationship.

My word choice in my thoughts was for two reasons. One was that holy thestral droppings Sirius-the-most-gorgeous-bloke-in-the-entire-school-Black had just asked me out and even though this shouldn't be weird or surprising since we're dating and spend all of our time together, it was anyway and the teenage girl inside of me was fairly excited and euphoric. Two was, well...

"Oh Sirius I'm so sorry but I've already made plans with my cousin for the first Hogsmeade trip. You should know, though, that I really am excited that you asked me and I wish I could go." I added as I saw my boyfriend's (I really should get used to using that word when thinking of Sirius...) face fall.

"Oh... Well then that's alright. Another time then, yeah?" Sirius asked.

"Most definitely." I said.

The rest of the day wasn't really all that exciting. We just spent a lot of time in the Common Room and joking around with Peeves, the resident poltergeist. I have to admit, he can be quite funny when he wants to be.

However, Sirius seemed to be sulking a bit. I asked him about it and he just shrugged it off, saying it was nothing. Then James, Remus, and Peter pulled him aside and probably knocked some sense into him, because he was happy for the rest of the day.

Altogether, I think it was a very successful day.

**_ A/N: I know, I know. You all are probably unhappy with me for two reasons:_**

_** 1: This is definitely not my best work.**_

_** 2: THIS HAS TAKEN SO FREAKING LONG TO UPLOAD.**_

_** To my dear readers, I have a simple explanation for both of these. Writer's block. Yessir, that little bugger who seems to take up the time and patience of many writers and readers has struck again. I honestly knew exactly what I wanted to happen in this chapter, it just didn't really flow. So I apologize. **_

_** ANYWAY! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted this story o' mine, it is very much appreciated. And I do realize I am very slow on answering the lovely little reviews I have received, so here we go:**_

_** Chapter 7:**_

_**Dauntless 14: Awww thank you so much! You readers are a huge part of the whole reason I do this!**_

_**Comfortably Grey: I'm so glad you like it! It's great to see that people like you continue to read this story even if it takes me forever to put it up!**_

_** Chapter 8:**_

_**CrimsonMutilation: Oh thank you so much! And trust me, next chapter will have so much Erik you will be barfing from his presence (that is, if you don't like him… I tend to like antagonists in stories…)!**_

_**BrightestWitchOfHerAge16: Hahahaha I absolutely loved Universal, but I'm not very good with rides so I stuck mostly with the shops. It was truly magical… oh dear, I'm tearing up… haha Thank you for reviewing, it truly brightened up my day to get a review from you. And let me know how you get back at your cousins, sounds like this could be interesting… muahahahaha**_

_**Blue Luver5000: I'm so glad you like my story! And yeah I just wanted a birthday a little bit before school started so I randomly picked a pretty number hahaha Thank you for reviewing!**_

_** Now, for all you lovely readers, since you put up with my idiocity( and no, that is not a word), I shall let you know of what is to come!**_

_** Take a pound of Erik, Erik, and more Erik.**_

_** A pinch of a pitiful Daniel.**_

_** A dash of Aleks' unrelenting mother.**_

_** A tablespoon of a horrible day for Aleks.**_

_** A saddened Sirius.**_

_** A shocked James.**_

_** An angry Remus.**_

_** A disappointed Peter.**_

_** A cool Julianna.**_

_** An angry Marie.**_

_** A surprisingly comforting Lily.**_

_** Stir clockwise quickly until cool, and you get…**_

_** The first Hogsmeade trip of Aleks' sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_


	10. Get Ready for It

Chapter 10: Get Ready for It

Ah, Hogsmeade; one of the loveliest places in the world, in my personal opinion. I really wish I could be there as of this moment, but, alas, it was not meant to be.

If I have just led you to believe that it was Saturday and I could not go into the wizarding village next to Hogwarts, then I apologize. It is really the day before, Friday if you didn't realize, and I am just outside my Cousin Daniel's door.

I know that earlier in this story I gave the impression that Daniel is a horrible person to get along with and a spy for my pureblood-righteous parents, and I really must apologize. At the time of writing those earlier passages, I was very angry with my family. But, of course, you will understand that reasoning in the future. As of right now, I think I shall tell you a bit more about my family.

My parents are known as Crystal Giggel (whose maiden name I don't remember- don't act surprised, I've never met anyone from that side of the family!) and Randolph (some old English name- which I don't get, but we can go back to that later) Giggel. My father is the spitting image of one of those pureblood supremacists you hear about- probably why he's a Death Eater, I suppose. He's weird that way.

My mother is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met- which, if you think about it, isn't saying much. But it's something, I guess. She's where I got my red hair, although hers is curly. I also got my complexion and bright blue eyes from my mother. I got my smile from Father, which is bigger and full of amusement if you can ever make the corners of his lips curve upwards. But my mother's smile is small and sweet, which is very deceiving once you realize how outspoken and demanding she can be sometimes.

My mother enjoys our pureblood-filled life because of all of the luxuries you get. She loves acting like she's from the nineteenth century, except that women are respected a bit more now than back then. Mother loves the idea of wearing fancy dresses every day, and is in love with the idea of arranged marriages- but, again, there will be more on that later.

Daniel, my only family in the U.K. besides my parents, is my first cousin. He lives with us most of the time, when he isn't out doing stuff that has to do with his Defence Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts. I don't think he could ever be a Death Eater, honestly. He is just too innocent and gullible, although you wouldn't think so if you were only his student. The only real problem I have with him outside of our occasional spats is that he reports absolutely everything to Mother. And I mean everything. I ate an extra waffle at breakfast the other day and received a letter that evening from my mother telling me to watch my weight. This is one reason why I enjoy knowing the location of the kitchens so much.

Another little factoid about my family is that we are actually an old American family, not British like many people like to think. Both my parents were very wealthy in the Americas and decided to move where our family castle is now somewhere near London- even I'm not too sure exactly where it is; it's been Unplottable for ages now. This is probably the reasoning behind Sirius not hearing of my family but also why his parents kept trying to suck up to mine; they just wanted to make friends with the family that would and could up and move across the ocean just to be closer to the Dark Lord. They must see it as some kind of devotion rather than wanting to get away from some rather annoying family members.

But anyway, back to where I was before. I had just knocked upon Daniel's door and was waiting for his footsteps to approach and the scent of apple and cinnamon to bring me in along with his warm welcome. However, this warm welcome was not given, so I opened the door on my own after listening for and detecting the music Daniel always keeps on whenever he is in his office.

I walked through the doorway, all ready to sit down in my usual seat and complain to Daniel about all the homework he was giving me and my fellow Sixth Years when I noticed that someone was sitting in my chair. To be specific, someone whose company I really do not enjoy. To be even more specific, someone who forced me to start a not-so-fake relationship with a bloke I hadn't really known just so I could escape his presence. If you haven't guessed who by now, I'd say you have to go all the way back to the beginning of my story and start re-reading.

"Erik," I said, nodding to that someone before turning to my cousin seated behind his desk.

"Aleksandra!" My cousin said, obviously surprised to see me in his office on a day other than Saturday, "What a pleasant surprise! Please come in, how have you been?"

I took the offered seat (which is much less comfortable than my normal one- I had put a cushioning charm on it when Daniel wasn't looking way back in third year) and stared at Erik to make him feel uncomfortable enough to leave. This stare didn't seem to affect Daniel in the least, unfortunately.

"So, Aleks, is there something that you came to tell me that required a visit?"

"As a matter of fact, there are two somethings," I said.

"And they are…?" Daniel prompted.

"Well," I said, "First of all, what is the deal with the three rolls of parchment on Vampires? We learned about those in fourth year; can't you just give us a break? You give us ridiculously long essays on the most ridiculous topics and then expect us to actually do them? What is this nonsense?" I said, a bit louder than normal. Erik seemed to be a bit taken aback at my yelling at his favourite Professor, but I couldn't care any less than I already did.

"Well," Daniel started to reply, "First of all, I am the teacher and I will do whatever I please, got it?" He didn't sound offended at all, rather joking actually. I think Erik was even more surprised by this.

"Now, what was the second something you needed?"

"Oh, right," I said, "Is there any way that we could schedule a brunch for around eleven instead of a late lunch tomorrow? I wanted to spend more time with Jules and Mars; I've been neglecting them considering the ridiculous amount of homework we've been given." I hinted ever-so-slyly. But of course I was lying about spending time with my two best friends- I spend every waking and sleeping moment with them; I was planning on asking Sirius to meet up with me after brunch if it all worked out the way I planned. I sat there, holding my breath, waiting to see if my cousin wouldn't see through my lie and could do me this one favour.

"Hmm I suppose I could work that out… Yes. I'll see you then, unless there is anything else you needed?" he said. I smiled and stood, but needed to ask one more thing.

"Yes, there's one more thing," I said, "What is he doing in here anyway?" I asked, sneering in the direction of the charming Erik Connors.

"He was asking about that 'ridiculous assignment' I gave you lot yesterday. At least some of my students take this seriously." I think Daniel was only half-joking this time, but that's okay.

"Oh," I replied, "I was worried that you had invited him to our brunch tomorrow or something. How silly of me." I turned to leave, but my cousin called me back once again.

"Wear one of the slightly more casual dresses your mother gave you tomorrow; we are going to an actual restaurant this time." I rolled my eyes.

"I don't see anything wrong with the Three Broomsticks. It is a perfectly fine establishment."

"Yes, perfectly nice for a pub. But we are going somewhere actually normal for people of our status tomorrow, so dress up, but not too nicely because I daresay you will mess up your outfit after being out with those young hoodlums you call friends." He teased in return.

"So that purple knee-length dress with the silver shoes and emerald pendant?" I asked, knowing exactly what he was hinting at, but also knowing he didn't want to embarrass himself by picking out his younger girl-cousin's wardrobe in front of Erik.

"Yes, I'm sure that would be lovely. Now run along to your hoodlums, we can meet in the Entrance Hall at ten on the dot." I stuck my tongue out at him at the mention of my friends and left the office, closing the door behind me and setting off for Gryffindor Tower.

As I entered, I noticed all of my friends gathered around the fireplace. Our relationships had really changed in the past few weeks.

James, Marie, and Julianna have become very close and are always bantering rather than all of the fighting they had reserved for each other at the very beginning of the year. I really couldn't believe that the day I walked into the Marauders' compartment had been merely weeks ago. It was rather odd to think about, really. My everyday life had changed so much since then.

Remus really was rather wary of our obnoxious behaviour, as had been seen when he would give us looks as if wondering about our sanity. But he seemed to have rather rubbed off on Marie, the slightly more studious one of us three.

It's weird how alike The Girls and I are. There are only slight differences in our personalities, which, apparently, is weird to normal people.

Marie is the one who always hesitates slightly before doing something irresponsible, and she studies a bit longer than Julianna and I do for our exams. Julianna is ever so slightly louder than Marie and me. It comes from the Italian in her. She's also the instigator, usually the one to start fights with other people and therefore leading us to pull pranks on those people she doesn't like.

And then there's me. I'd like to say that I'm just the average one of us, if there could be such a thing when it comes to us. But I suppose I'd be the slightly more eccentric one of us. And I'm a bit clueless. I mean, we all are, but I think I am the most to blame.

And the funny thing is, no matter how abnormal we are, no one seems to notice our oddness. That in itself seems to be odd. I mean, the Marauders never really noticed us before this year, and they make it a habit to know the names and status of everyone in case they could be pulled into a prank of some form. I don't know, maybe we're as good at staying below the radar as we proclaim… well, to ourselves and the Marauders, at least, considering we stay below the radar.

But anyway, back to the current situation. Remus, Peter, and Marie are talking quietly in a half circle on the floor with their legs stretched out, probably about homework since Marie has her wand out and is making tricky wand movements. Unless she's hexing them, but I made her promise to be nice; besides, it's in the Contract.

Ah, the Contract. We haven't had to refer to that thing at all yet, at least since Sirius started trying to call me different nicknames. It's been pretty nice, though.

A loud sound caught my attention and I shook myself out of my thoughts when I realized that it must be James, Julianna, and Sirius, since they were laughing loudly and Julianna was gesticulating wildly with her hands.

Sirius and I had become quite close. More like best friends rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean, I suppose we looked like it to the outside population, what with the handholding, kisses on the cheek and private conversations, but we hadn't even had our first kiss as a couple yet. I wasn't sure I wanted to until I knew that I had feelings for him rather than him just being really awesome and helping me avoid Erik. I don't enjoy kissing those who I do not have feelings for. And yes, it has happened.

I approached them with a new spring in my step after remembering why I hadn't already been sitting with them. I noticed Sirius was in my armchair yet again, but I was too excited to care. So I decided that I would instead sit on his lap and lean into him like a normal couple, holding his hand. Ha. Sirius and me- a normal couple. Because that is exactly what we are. Not.

"I have a surpriseeeee!" I said in a singsong voice as I sat down.

"And what would that surprise be?" Sirius asked, still looking mildly surprised at my sudden appearance.

"You have to guess!" I responded.

"Okay… Is it a chocolate elephant?" He asked.

"I only wish!" I said, nearly drooling from the image.

"Another castle we didn't know about?" James asked, apparently still irritated with me about only just letting him know that my family owned a hidden castle in America as well as England. I mean, what does it matter? Boys.

"Nope, although my family is looking at one in France, so I'll let you know when you can visit." I thought I heard him grumble something about someone actually being richer than all of the old English pureblood families put together, but I decided to be nice and ignore it.

"A Pegasus that eats rainbows and poops Skittles?" Julianna asked excitedly. I didn't even deign that with a vocal response, choosing instead to roll my eyes. Her and her Pegasus. They aren't even real.

"Your family bought the Library of Congress?" Remus asked, seeming almost hopeful.

"What is that, even?" I asked, confused.

"It's only the largest library ever! Even in Muggle records, but they don't know about the Wizarding section, which is two and a half times larger. But whatever, obviously not cool enough for you..." He trailed off.

"Obviously not, or else we would have bought that. And just so you know, our castle in America has the largest collection of Wizarding Literature ever recorded. So beat that." I said. Remus's jaw dropped and then murmured something to James about him being right about his assessment of my family's wealth.

"I don't see why it's important that my family has gold…" I said, and then turned to Marie and Peter expectantly, waiting for them to guess as well.

"Oh, I dunno… a secret book with the best pranks of all time?" Peter asked.

"No… But that's a really good idea, I might just write one. Thanks, Pete." I smiled. That would be interesting. I then looked at Marie.

"Knowing you, it's probably just a Sugar Quill."

"Ah, my dear Mars, you know me so well. However, this time, it is far more important than all of that." I thought I heard Remus say something along the lines of 'What could be more important than all of those books you don't appreciate?' but I ignored him. I had gotten good at that lately.

"Well then, what is it, Andy?" Sirius asked. I grimaced at the nickname. Ever since I had proclaimed I didn't like his usual nickname of "Sweets," he had been determined to try every possible nickname that came to mind until he found one that I liked. I shook my head at the name, but continued on.

"I just spoke with Daniel, and he said we could have brunch instead so I could spend time with Mars and Jules!" I exclaimed, looking around at everyone else for their reactions.

"Oh… Well, that's great sweetheart…" Sirius said as Marie and Julianna shot me pointed glares, partly for the nicknames that they appreciate even less than I appreciate Sirius's for me, and partly because Sirius was obviously upset that I had said I would be hanging out with them instead of him.

"Wait, I'm not done," I remonstrated him for speaking during my speech; "I lied to him, silly. I'm going to Hogsmeade with you instead, of course!"

Sirius's face broke out into a smile and he jumped up, taking me with him and spinning me around, then kissing my cheek. I blushed at the contact in front of so many people, who had started staring when Sirius stood.

"What're you all looking at?" Julianna asked the room at large, who had actually been staring. Really, you'd think they'd have better things to do than observe my relationship.

"Get back to your knitting and things," Peter exclaimed when no one had looked away in response to Julianna's question.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already nine-thirty on the dot. I claimed one of both Marie's and Julianna's arms and frogmarched them toward the stairs, pushing them ahead of me as I shouted to the Marauders:

"Big day ahead of us, time for bed! I'll see all of your lovely faces in the morning- well, not you," I said to the general room besides the four boys next to the fireplace, "I mean the Marauders- silly name if you ask me, but they didn't. So I'll deal. Buenas noches and good night!"

After my mini night time speech, which seems to occur more and more often since I became friends with the Marauders, I climbed the stairs myself and headed toward my dormitory. I swear-they are such a bad influence. It's definitely not the other way around.

Then again, I may have to rethink that statement. As soon as I entered the dormitory, Marie and Julianna pounced on me like large puppies.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to Hogsmeade with him-"

"Oh Merlin, how will we ever find something for you to wear-"

"And you didn't think to tell us you were going to talk to Daniel-"

"It'll take forever to do your hair-"

"What about that essay for his class-"

"And don't even get me started on your make-up-"

"I haven't even started it-"

"I almost forgot about your shoes-"

"Looks like no Hogsmeade tomorrow-"

"And jewelry!"

"SHUT IT!" I shouted, interrupting Julianna's speech about her obvious disgust with my wardrobe and appearance.

"To answer you, Marie, I decided to go to my cousin a few minutes ago, and he refuses to shorten the essay. Julianna, Daniel practically picked out my wardrobe for me already because we're going to an 'actual' restaurant. I already know what to do for my makeup and hair. Any more questions?"

"Yes." They both said, but kept quiet, knowing full well that I didn't really care.

"Marie, I will want to meet Sirius at the front of Hogsmeade, and spend the day just talking and hanging out," I said, knowing she wanted to know how she could best set up and stalk our date, "And Julianna, it's that royal purple knee-length dress. I'll wear the silver heels and my emerald pendant, with a half-up-half-down style and very natural makeup. Any more questions, ladies?"

"Nope." My best friends said, grinning at the fact that I knew their questions before they said them.

"Well then I'm going to get ready for bed." I grabbed my bag of toiletries and my pyjamas and then made my way into the bathroom.

Lily and her friends must have entered while I was in the bathroom; either that or I didn't notice them while I was talking to Jules and Mars, which is known to happen.

"So, Giggel, you and Sirius are official, then?" Katarina asked, speaking to me in a normal tone for the first time this year. But I wasn't going to fall for it.

"Yeah, we've been official for a few weeks now," I said warily.

Katherine and Isabelle exchanged looks, and then looked at Katarina in concern. I caught on immediately. I may be clueless, but I'm not stupid.

"Well I hope it works out for you two." Lily said. I nodded stiffly and got into bed with murmured goodnights to and from Marie and Julianna.

Okay, I'm actually pretty proud of myself for catching on this quickly. It's obvious that Katarina fancies Sirius and Lily disapproves of this so she hopes it works out for us so that Katarina doesn't even think she has a chance.

Alright, I only noticed that as I'm writing this, when Marie told me. It was worth a shot, yeah? I didn't notice back then, and I guess that was the difference between joy and anguish for me.

** A/N: Yeah… this is really late… so… yeah.**

** And I know I promised Hogsmeade in this chapter, but I needed to clear up so many things for this story to continue as I have just recently planned this, so I stopped here. On the bright side, this is the longest chapter yet.**

** In other news, I have a new story called When Opposites Attract, and I would love it if you checked it out. It's Fred/OC and each chapter is based on a different song. I thought I'd try out something different.**

** Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and favourited! I love you all!**

** Blue Luver5000: Thanks for reading! I'm so sorry it's been taking so long. School, sports, and a social life can do that hahaha**

** Arina-Peachy: Aw thank you! I'll be updating sooner, so don't go away! Gosh, I feel like a T.V. commercial…**

** marauderlove: Thanks for reading! If you think this is funny, I plan on my other story being more of a laugh rather than all the drama in this story, so be sure to check it out! (ha, free advertising. Best thing since sliced bread. ;))**

** I WILL UPDATE SOONER THIS TIME, CROSS MY HEART.**


	11. A Big Surprise

**Chapter 11: A Big Surprise**

"Aleks,"

"Mmmph,"

"Aleks, get up,"

"Five more minutes,"

"Aleks, we have to get you ready for Hogsmeade,"

"Ten more minutes, then,"

BANG! "ALEKSANDRA ALISON CRYSTAL GENEVIEVE JACALYNN SARAH GIGGEL, GET YOUR FAT BUTT OUT OF BED, WE NEED TO MAKE YOU LOOK BETTER THAN THE UGLINESS YOU LOOK RIGHT NOW!"

I jumped and landed on my bum on the floor next to my bed. Marie had just jumped up from her seat on my bed, and Julianna looked like a freak storm standing in the bathroom doorway.

I observed my friends, noticing that both were still in their pyjamas, with no makeup and hair that had obviously not been brushed since last night. Then I turned to the clock on Marie's nightstand and saw that it read six o'clock AM. AM as in morning. Six o'clock as in a full four hours before I even had to meet up with Daniel. Six o'clock AM as in the time that I should be asleep. Someone is going to get killed.

"Whose brilliant idea was it to wake me up a full four hours before I had to meet my cousin in the Entrance Hall?"

"It was mine, now go shower," Julianna said, hauling me up and shoving me toward the bathroom door, and then locking it behind me.

"I should be asleep right now!" I shouted as I turned the water on, knowing I probably was not going to win. When Julianna wants to do something, it always happens one way or another.

"Hurry up; we have a schedule to keep!" Julianna shouted through the door ten minutes later, "And don't bother changing back into clothes, just throw a robe on. Marie, why didn't I start this last night?" After a silent pause, "Marie…? Marie!" There was a thump and a cry from Marie, leading me to believe that she had been cruelly awoken.

"Jules, you're a witch. Aleks could be ready in five minutes if you would only let her." Marie said, irritated, as I turned the water off and dried myself, then put a robe on and stepped out.

"But it's so much more fun the Muggle way!" Julianna said as she pushed me down into a chair in front of the vanity that we all shared and proceeded to dry my hair with her wand. Yes, Julianna, very Muggle of you.

"Marie, go gather all of Aleks's things. This may take a while." Julianna commanded, gesturing to my head. She's so sweet.

Julianna continued to chatter for the next two hours, while doing my hair and makeup. Marie went back to bed after getting my things, and I started nodding off every five minutes, only for Julianna to shove me awake again and demand that I pay attention to how she does things so that I would be able to do them in the future.

All she really did was produce a heating charm for her wand and curl my hair around it, and then held half of it back with a silver comb set with several tiny emeralds that my grandmother had sent me as a back to school present. My makeup ended up a bit darker than what I would define as natural, but I wasn't about to fight with my best friend. She could be scary at times. The last piece of my outfit was my emerald pendant with a tiny silver chain to hang around my neck.

After slipping on my purple dress that I had described to Daniel and some silver heels that were way too tall to be casual, I started heading out of the dorm to go to breakfast. Entering the Common Room, I saw that the Marauders were up at eight o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. I swear, they are the oddest blokes I have ever met in my life.

"Hello, boys," I said, walking up to them expertly in my heels. Well, what I would like to say is expertly since I hadn't practiced in them since summer. But that's not the point.

"Hello, graceful," Sirius said as he stood up so he could stop me from falling over. I swore, those heels would be the death of me.

I pushed his hands away as I regained my balance, intent on walking around the room as practice.

"Why are you dressed like that?" James asked as I passed the fireplace, becoming smoother with every step.

"I'm going to brunch with my cousin, you dolt." I said in response, righting myself after I nearly tripped over the rug.

"Well I know that, but why does it look like you're about to enter a beauty pageant or something?"

"Because I am," I said at the same time as Sirius, Marie, and Julianna said, "Because she is."

"Do we have a stereo in here?" Peter asked, looking up from his Muggle Studies notes.

"I still don't get it," James said after we all laughed at Peter's comment, which turned out to be serious and even funnier.

"When purebloods get together, you always try to out-do each other in everything, including appearance, which is why I have to wear a bloody dress to Hogsmeade. Any more questions?" I said a bit irritably after nearly tripping again.

"No." Everyone said after a short but awkward pause in which I finally made a lap around the Common Room without a problem.

"Alright, let's go to the Great Hall then." I said, making my way to the Portrait Hole.

"But I thought you were going to brunch later?" Remus asked, confused, as he followed me with the others.

"Do you honestly expect me to actually eat anything when I go out to eat with some purebloods?" I asked rhetorically.

I turned the corner as I said this sentence to see Daniel and Erik talking in front of Daniel's office. I felt conflicted as I automatically reached for Sirius's hand to make a show of it to Erik, knowing Daniel didn't approve. I decided that I could explain to Daniel later before he wrote his letter to my mother.

Sirius and I strode past the two on our way to the Great Hall, probably looking like the superior purebloods we were supposed to be with our nicer-than-usual appearance and cold demeanour. I noticed Daniel giving me a glance that said "we'll talk about this later" before looking over my appearance and nodding his approval.

Turning another corner, I looked up at Sirius and said, "You know, I do believe I am almost as tall as you in these heels."

He snorted. "You barely reach my chin in those shoes."

"…Yeah, but it's better than your shoulder, at least." I said.

"You don't normally even reach my shoulder, either," He responded.

"Almost!"

"Not even!" Sirius said.

"I'm not that short." I huffed after a short pause.

"Sorry, love, but you really are that short." Sirius said, taking his hand out of mine and wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Well from now on all I'm wearing is these heels, so it doesn't matter either way," I replied.

"Why would you do that?" Sirius asked incredulously, "You're perfect the way you are."

I blushed and was quiet as we made our way down the Marble Staircase.

Finally reaching the Great Hall, we all gathered at the Gryffindor Table and took our usual seats at the end. Marie was in a conversation with Remus and Peter and Julianna was bantering with James, so I turned to Sirius to chat.

"Let's play the Question Game," I said, as it was something we normally did since a couple of weeks ago so we could get to know each other even better.

"Alright, I'll go first this time. What is your favourite Muggle song?" Sirius asked.

"I'll have to say Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams," I replied honestly.

"Really, why?"

"It's about the best time of his life. It's happy. I want to have a summer just like that. Except for the bit about being in a band. I can't sing or play an instrument for my life."

"I'll have to agree with you on that one," he said, earning a light smack on the shoulder from me.

"Ouch- your turn," He said.

"Okay.. Um, what's your idea of the perfect girl?" I asked.

Sirius gave me a questioning look.

"What? Since we're not technically a couple, that is not a weird question at all, in my opinion." I said honestly.

"Okay, well, she would have to be much shorter than me, first of all," I nodded. Sirius Black had always gone for much shorter girls from what I had observed.

"And she would have to have light blue eyes," That sounded about right, a lot of the girls he seemed to have fancied had blue eyes.

"And freckles are adorable on certain people," This is where I got confused. Only a few of his exes had freckles.

"She would have to be funny, sarcastic, and fairly smart," Well that was a lot of girls in the school, and also a very general description.

"And I seem to have a thing for redheads," Okay, what was going on here? I was the only redhead to even be friends with Sirius.

And then it clicked. I looked up to see Sirius smirking at me.

"You're just playing with me!" I exclaimed, hitting him on the shoulder again, only a bit more forcefully this time.

"No, I'm actually being completely serious, pun intended," Sirius said.

"Wait… so what are you saying?" I asked, thinking I knew but not wanting to sound like an idiot when I guessed- if I was wrong.

"I am saying…" Sirius said, then raised his voice so that the others of our group could hear, but no one else, "Aleks, would you go on a date with me? A real date, not like this fake relationship we have had going on here."

I don't think my smile could have gotten any wider.

"Why, yes, Sirius, I think I would quite enjoy that. How does this afternoon in Hogsmeade sound?"

**A/N: Okay, this is the shortest chapter I think I have ever and will ever write, but I had this sitting on my computer and couldn't think of a brilliant transition from this scene to the next, so I 'm stopping it here. Don't complain. Thanks.**

** Now, a very special thank you to all of you who have read, reviewed, favourited, etc. I love you all.**

** Blue Luver5000: You're a doll. I'm sorry this took so long, but the next chapter is like the first scene I came up with when starting this story, so I hope to have it up soon!**

** nacho5: hahaha Don't worry I'll start writing the next chapter as soon as possible. I hope to have it up within a week, but my life is a bit of chaos at the moment so excuse me if it turns out I've lied to you.**

** Spot'sGalFrom1899: Aw, shucks. I'm blushing. That review made my day every time I saw it on my e-mail. You're a sweetheart.**


	12. And So It Ends

**A/N: Hey. So yeah. It's been like three years. But I've had this scene in my head ever since first planning this story, and I had to finally get it out there. This will be an extremely shortened version of what I had planned for the story, including an epilogue. I will most likely be doing the same to my other story, but who knows? I had many more ideas for that one so I may continue it in my free time. Thanks for reading!**

I met up with Daniel in the Entrance Hall and once he looked me over one last time to make sure I still met his standards, we were off. But, of course, we couldn't be off without uncomfortable discussion.

"Why were you with Black again this morning?" he asked after some silence as we made our way across the grounds and towards the gates that would lead us to Hogsmeade.

"I don't see how that is any of your business," I replied, hoping to play it off so we could avoid an argument. Daniel, however, seemed to think that an argument before brunch was the healthiest way to start our morning.

"Of course it's my business, Aleks," he said, "I'm your older cousin. I'm supposed to guide you away from making bad decisions."

"Oh," I said as we entered the main street and passed the Three Broomsticks, "and is my making loyal, trustworthy friends a poor decision?" I shouldn't have said that. But I was tired of having to hide who I was from someone I've always considered a good friend.

"Are you implying that a Black, especially a blood traitor like the one with whom you seem to have associated yourself, can make a good friend?" Daniel asked, lowering his voice and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am, actually." I responded immediately. Why was I making this situation worse? His expression changed to one of incredulousness.

"Just the other day, you were telling me that you would never actually make friends with him! You claimed to have been using him to help you with a prank!"

"Yeah, well, I lied." I should really keep my mouth shut. Wasn't the whole plan to get him on my good side?

"What else have you lied to me about?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm going on a date with Sirius this afternoon rather than hanging out with Marie and Julianna like I said I was!" I said. Well, might as well put it all out there. I'm a big proponent of the "go big or go home" concept.

"What?" he asked, clearly flabbergasted, "And I suppose you're friends with Mudbloods now, as well?"

"Yes, actually!" I said, looking around, "And there's one of my friends right now! Hi, Lily!" I shouted to Evans, who happened to be walking past the spot where we had stopped. She gave me a look that plainly said 'I'm not falling for whatever you've planned.' Well, at least some things never change. But Daniel didn't seem to notice her expression, for his own had grown more incredulous and a bit purple.

"Your parents would be astounded at your behavior," he said, "but for right now, since this is such an exciting occasion, I will leave it alone and hope that you make the right decisions in the future. Now, let's go inside." He finished, gesturing toward a fancy-looking restaurant in front of which we had stopped.

Still slightly upset, I stomped through the door which Daniel had opened, and continued through the door. As soon as I had stepped in, I looked around and paused as my eyes reached a familiar face.

"Mother!" I exclaimed – well, as much of an exclamation that can be acceptable in pureblood society, "Daniel never told me that you would be here. It is quite a surprise." I made my way to her table and kissed her cheek before turning to sit down.

And that's when I stopped dead.

There was Erik Connors, looking smug as he took in my appearance, offering me a chair. I took it, though grudgingly, and saw that his own mother was gracing us with her presence as well.

"Aleksandra, darling, it is so nice to see you," said Mrs. Connors as I settled myself into my seat.

"And you as well, Mrs. Connors," I replied, polite as ever.

Brunch went on like this, boring as every other pureblood event I've attended. I hardly paid any attention, keeping my eyes down and occupying my mind with thoughts of my date later with Sirius.

Did he have anything planned? Well, of course he did, he's Sirius Black. Perhaps we would go to Honeydukes and try all the oddly-flavored sweets. Or we'd stop by Spintwitches and check out the latest Quidditch supplies. Maybe we'd simply walk around and enjoy each other's company.

We might even kiss! I wondered what that would be like, my first kiss. Of course, with Sirius, it wouldn't be anything less than perfect. I had felt for him more than I'd ever felt for anyone else. I continued to muse on what my day would be like, lost in my own little world.

So lost in it was I that I hardly noticed when my mother had directed her comments at me.

"…Isn't that right, Aleksandra?" She asked, glaring at me as if she had known what I was thinking about. Which, considering how powerful of a witch she really is, wouldn't be so far-fetched.

"Wh- oh, right, yes, of course, mother." I said, agreeing immediately to whatever it was that she had said, as it was easier than asking her to repeat herself.

"Yes," she said, giving me one last steely look before turning back to Mrs. Connors, "We really do respect your family, and hope to have a bright future together." What was she going on about? It's not unusual to say such things, but her wording had me questioning the true intentions behind it.

"We do as well, of course," replied Mrs. Connors, "which is why Erik has a very important question to ask dearest Aleksandra." She gave him a significant look; I did not at all like where this conversation was headed. Were they going to force me into dating this piece of hippogriff dung? I couldn't think of anything worse.

That's when Erik got up from his seat, moved to stand in front of me, and got down on one knee.

Apparently, the universe could think of something worse.

"Aleksandra," the slimy snake began after a pause in which he seemed to be trying to collect himself, "will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

I knew it was coming, but all I could do was stare at him with my mouth open. Where had all this come from? I was only seventeen! Merlin's pants, my mother had authorized this!  
>And not only that, but to this vile creature whom I had hated since we were toddlers!<p>

I didn't say anything. I couldn't seem to find any words. I stared at Connors, still trying to fully comprehend what had just come out of his mouth. He was nervous; sweat had sprouted on his forehead and he kept glancing over to our mothers. Suddenly, I couldn't look at him anymore, so I tore my eyes away from him and looked up to the window, conveniently placed next to our table.

And that's where I saw Sirius. He had a pained expression on his face, and there was a bouquet of flowers hanging limply from his hand. Our eyes made contact, and as soon as they did, he dashed out sight, sprinting away toward the main part of town.

I didn't even think; I stood up, knocking Erik off balance, and ran out of the restaurant as fast as I could. I ran away from the situation, from my family, from Erik, from the disappointing food in the restaurant. But, more importantly, I ran towards Sirius.

Of course, that would have been easier if I had known where he had run off to. I stumbled in my heels, pushing past people in order to try to catch a glimpse of where he could have possibly gone.

"Whoa there – Aleks! What are you doing here? I thought you would have been on that date with Sirius by now."

"Remus!" I exclaimed, happy to find one of Sirius's friends, and rushed to ask him for help, "Do you know where Sirius would be? He saw me in a compromising position, and I think he misunderstood what was happening. I really need to find him so I can explain."

"Oh… I don't know. You could try the castle, I doubt he would stick around here if he's as upset as you seem to think he is." He said.

"Oh, thank you, Remus!" I said, already starting to run off, "I'll explain everything later, I promise!"

I worked my way up to the castle, mapping out the different places I could try to find Sirius once I got there. As it happened, finding him was much easier than expected.

He was under the beech tree. You know, the one where he and I and sometimes our friends would spend our breaks on nice days. Except he wasn't alone.

Katarina was with him. And they were kissing – that was supposed to be my kiss.

I couldn't handle the disappointment I felt when I saw the two together. Sirius was my best friend! He knew things about me that even Marie and Julianna didn't know. We had gotten incredibly close, though our relationship had only lasted around two months. I had even started to think that I was in love with him, despite not being a normal couple by any standards.

And now he was kissing my dorm mate! Not only was it not me, but it was _her._ He knew I hated her, but I suppose he also knew that she fancied herself in love with him. And now the two were under our tree, desecrating all that it stood for. I hoped that big branch hanging over them snapped and fell on their heads.

Unable to think of any other appropriate reaction, I turned away and slowly walked back up to the castle. They were too busy to have noticed my presence anyway.

Walking into the dorms, I noticed a disgruntled Lily sitting on her four-poster with the curtains open.

"Oh great, not only has my best friend left me to go snog Sirius Black, but now _you_ have shown up to make my day even more misera – wait. Isn't Black supposed to be dating you?"

My eyes watered at this reminder, and Lily seemed to notice. Her face softened and, though she seemed conflicted when doing it, she gestured for me to join her on her bed. I don't know what possessed me to comply, considering this was my arch enemy since First Year, but I did.

"What happened?" She asked, and that's all I needed before breaking into sobs and showing off my amazing ability to rant.

"I went out to brunch with Daniel because it was a part of a plan to soften him up so maybe he would help me get out of having to marry Erik like my family had been threatening since we were five and then I was going to go on my first ever date with Sirius because he had originally been my fake boyfriend as part of said plan to get away from Erik but then my mother and Erik and his mum were also at brunch and all I could think about was Sirius the whole time but then Erik asked me to marry him and Sirius must have been outside waiting for my brunch to be done because he saw through the window and he ran away and I didn't even think I just got up and ran after him and away from Erik and I found Remus and he told me to check the castle and I did but then I saw him under _our _tree kissing Katarina and it was supposed to be our kiss and I'm in love with him but now it's all a mess!"

We sat in silence for a few moments and I realized that I had somehow ended up being hugged by Lily, but I made no effort to move. The silence was only broken by my incessant sniffling. And then she finally said something, speaking slowly.

"Well, most of that didn't make any sense to me," she said, "but from the sounds of it, you're having a bit of an off day."

I choked out a laugh, grateful for her efforts to lighten the mood, but I didn't say anything.

"Personally, I would wait for all of this to blow over," she continued, "and I would try to get everything out of my system by writing it down. It's surprisingly cathartic." I decided to stop myself from telling her that I know she believes that, considering I've read all of her diaries.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, until tears stopped crawling out of my eyes, and then I got up and went over to my own bed without a word. I closed the curtains, and got out my prank journal, the only journal I had.

And that's when I started writing this story.

***PAGE BREAK***

I left for Christmas Break that year and never came back.

After the Incident, as I've come to call it, I stopped living as I had been. Sirius had been my biggest source of strength as I had fought against the pureblood role I was born into, and once he was gone, I had given up. I received an owl from my mother the day after Hogsmeade, informing me that she had accepted Erik's offer in my stead, and that she would make all the plans so that we could wed on the 27th of December. I refused to speak to or even look at any of my friends, including Sirius, after that, though not for lack of trying on their part; I assume Lily had filled them in eventually so they would stop trying to get the story out of me. And Lily was the only person I spoke to for the rest of the semester. I eventually told her absolutely everything, and we started to spend more time together; apparently, she and Katherine had never really been friends, and since Katarina was hung up on Sirius the entire time, Lily also had no one else to go to.

Break came and went, and suddenly I was a pureblood housewife just like Mother had always wanted. Erik continued schooling, and through him I heard that Sirius had run away from home to live with the Potters. I kept up secret correspondence with Lily, and she said that my marriage had been the last straw, causing Sirius to pack up and officially become the blood traitor he had always been at heart. I didn't really believe her, but secretly, I hoped this was true and I was proud of him for being stronger than I ever was.

Lily finally gave in to James, saying he had matured, and started dating him. Soon, they were engaged and Lily asked me to be the Maid of Honor. This was only out of politeness, of course, because not only could I not stand up in a Muggleborn's wedding without risking her life, but I also could not bear to be in the same room as Sirius, let alone look him in the eye after all that had happened. Besides, Lily and Katarina had made up and I had heard that Sirius and Katarina were still going strong at the time, making Katarina the obvious choice for such an honorable position.

My life went on as it had since Sixth Year, parties and gatherings and sitting around the house, collecting dust as I kept to myself in the only room in the house that was mine. Erik had stopped trying to make me happy in this marriage, and went on with his life, eventually becoming a prominent Death Eater. We never had the chance to have any children together, thank Merlin, but that meant I never got to raise kids like I had always wanted. Of course, I never got a lot of things that I had always wanted.

Good news came in the form of a bouncing baby boy, Harry James Potter. And there was news of Sirius and Katarina having broken up after a long relationship. Of course, good news can never stay, and Lily and James went into hiding soon after Harry's birth. They made Peter their Secret Keeper rather than Sirius so that he could tell me where they were, and I took every chance I could get to visit them after making sure Sirius would not also be there, of course.

And then they were gone. My best and only friends had been taken from me, and I let the emptiness that had always been inside take over. I had been told that Sirius had been the one to betray them, but I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it.

And then Erik died on a mission. He had left one day, after making sure to get me my morning tea, and I had never seen him again. Albus Dumbledore had visited me that day to tell me of my husband's death, and he had informed me that Erik had in fact been under cover for the Order of the Phoenix, gathering information on the Dark Lord's most secret plans. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord always has a way of finding out, and Erik was killed immediately after the Dark Lord's death, as some other Death Eaters had somehow found out about his double agent status.

After this visit, I reflected on my life with Erik. I had noticed a difference in him after his graduation, but I had never thought anything of it. I then thought back to all of the times he had made an effort to make me truly happy again. His efforts were fruitless, of course, but he had never stopped. He had even brought me my tea the morning of his death.

Of course, as a sign of the negative perspective I had gained, the knowledge that Erik was actually good did nothing but depress me even more. I wallowed in self-pity, seeing as not only was my life empty of everything I had once stood for, but now I was a widow, and widows do not last long in pureblood society.

I probably would have died from grief, had I not come across a photo album in my daily wanderings of the mansion. The album contained photographs of the happy days I had with James and Lily, starting with a picture that James had taken of me and his wife when we got to hug each other for the first time since leaving Hogwarts for Christmas Break Sixth Year. The photos took my breath away as I slowly turned each page, seeing how happy we were back then. The last picture was of all four of us, me, Lily, James, and Harry. It was the day before their deaths, and we had no idea. But that is not what made the tears finally start flowing for the first time since Lily had offered her comfort all those years ago. What really caused the actual emotion I felt after years of emptiness was me. In this picture, I was glowing. It must have been the happiest I had been in my entire life. I remembered feeling loved and so joyful I might burst. And then I looked up and there was a mirror and I wasn't even a shadow of who I had once been.

My skin was so pale I could have been mistaken for a ghost. My eyes were sunken in and I was so thin I could have been a corpse. There were laugh lines on my face, but they were hardly distinguishable among all the frown lines carved deep into my skin. I couldn't remember the last time I had smiled, let alone laughed. And I had hardly seen anything with as much color and clarity as I remembered I once had.

I took a moment to examine myself, and then I stopped myself before I could sink even lower into my depression and self-pity. Lily would be appalled at the way I had been treating myself. I could see her in front of me, scolding me just as she had when we were Third Years and she had finally gotten sick of how little time I spent on my schoolwork. She would be wagging her finger like there was no tomorrow, and when she was done ranting, she would make some sort of joke to lighten the mood.

And I laughed. I had actually laughed. I surprised myself and caught my own eye in the mirror before letting out another giggle. And then I sat there laughing for what felt like hours, and it was the best I had ever felt. I took the photo out of the album and tucked it into my pocket, where it has stayed ever since.

After that, I stepped outside again. I walked through the garden and breathed in the summer air. I laughed and jumped and ran and felt invincible, just like in the picture. I started to eat again and I conversed with the house elf on a regular basis. And I always had my morning tea.

This new Aleks had goals. With her inheritance, she started organizations that helped underage witches and wizards to grow to be who they wanted to be, whether that be in their careers or to simply escape from a home life that would not allow them to flourish as they would under her care. Eventually, she extended these programs to include Muggles. And, through these programs, she finally had the children she had always wanted.

Now, eighteen years after losing all hope for a better life, I have a life better than I could have ever imagined. And that is why I've finished this story, because I needed to keep a record of what hope can do to change a person's life.

***PAGE BREAK***

Epilogue

The morning after finishing her story, Aleks found that she still wanted to do more with her life. Her organizations had helped many children across the world, but they could practically run themselves by now. She knew that the Dark Lord had been rising to power again, because no matter what the Daily Prophet said, she would believe Harry's word on anything.

So she made the effort to contact Dumbledore. She had heard through the grapevine that the Order of the Phoenix was starting back up again, and she felt that she owed it to Erik to try to join and help with whatever she possibly could.

And Dumbledore contacted her, sending her a piece of parchment with instructions and the location to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. She left immediately.

Upon entering the old house, Aleks felt a sense of familiarity. She walked toward a room from which she heard many voices, but the voices stopped upon her entrance. She slowly looked around and stopped dead upon seeing an eerily familiar face, though it seemed to have changed as much as her own had over the years.

"Oi, where have you been, sweets? I've been waiting to see your face for eighteen years and you have the nerve to be late. Unbelievable."


End file.
